Chinese Whistleblower Scientist Who Provided COVID-19 Data Returns to Lab After Protests

Chinese scientist Zhang Yongzhen was allowed back into his lab after protesting being locked out for days. Zhang and his team were evicted from their lab, allegedly for renovations, but Zhang claimed the new lab did not meet safety standards. This incident highlights China's efforts to control information related to COVID-19, including closing labs, ending collaborations, and restricting scientists' travel.

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was allowed back into his lab after he spent days locked outside, sitting in protest.

Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post early on Wednesday that authorities had “tentatively agreed” to allow him and his team to return to his laboratory and continue their research for the time being.

Zhang had been staging a sit-in protest outside his lab since the weekend after he and his team were suddenly notified they had to leave their lab, a sign of Beijing's continuing pressure on scientists conducting research on the coronavirus.

The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center previously said Zhang's lab was being renovated and was closed for safety reasons. But Zhang said his team wasn't offered an alternative until after the eviction and the new lab didn't meet safety standards for conducting their research.

Zhang's latest difficulty reflects how China has sought to control information related to the virus: An Associated Press investigation found that the government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace it from the first weeks of the outbreak. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country.