[lazyeye]

Would need to confirm the detail but I think polio and chicken pox appeared before labs were a thing, and HIV came from Africa where they dont have labs.

This is compared to the coronavirus which first appeared just down the road from a lab which studies coronaviruses.

[hotpotamus]

Yes, the idea is that we had viruses emerge without labs in the past, so my first assumption would be that covid emerged like any other past virus had. Also, it seems quite unclear to me what people claim the lab's role was. I can accept that we may never truly know the origin, and I can also say that it seems like a good idea to impose strict restrictions on viral research no matter the origin of covid, but I doubt that China will take much heed of my preferences. It seems that progress in technology is inevitable, and biotech/viruses are not an exception.