Mystery around two fired scientists points to larger issues at Canada’s high-security lab, former colleagues say

'An honest, open discussion from the beginning would have been very, very useful'

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Two leading scientists are standing by a pair of researchers fired from Canada's only Level-4 virology lab, instead pointing the finger at issues inside the Winnipeg-based facility itself.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/07/2021 (1170 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two leading scientists are standing by a pair of researchers fired from Canada’s only Level-4 virology lab, instead pointing the finger at issues inside the Winnipeg-based facility itself.

Dr. Xiangguo Qiu and her biologist husband, Keding Cheng, were stripped of their security clearances and escorted from the National Microbiology Lab (NML) in July 2019.

They were then fired in January, though the Public Health Agency of Canada has refused to say why.

CBC
Dr. Xiangguo Qiu was escorted out of the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg in July 2019. She was then fired last January, but the Public Health Agency of Canada refuses to say why. (CBC)
CBC Dr. Xiangguo Qiu was escorted out of the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg in July 2019. She was then fired last January, but the Public Health Agency of Canada refuses to say why. (CBC)

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

 

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