Chinese scientist who published the sequence of the COVID-19 virus was allowed back into his lab after a sit-in

BEIJING (AP) — The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China said he was allowed back into his lab after sitting locked outside for days in protest.

Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post shortly after midnight on Wednesday that the medical center where his lab is located had “tentatively agreed” to allow him and his team to return and continue their research for the time being.

“Now team members can freely enter and exit the lab,” Zhang wrote in a post on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform. He added that he is negotiating a plan to relocate the lab so that it does not interfere with his team's work with the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, where Zhang's lab is located.

Zhang has been staging a sit-in outside his lab since the weekend after he and his team were suddenly told they had to leave and locked outside – a sign of continued pressure on Chinese scientists researching the coronavirus.

Zhang sat outside on flattened cardboard in the drizzle and members of his team unfurled a banner that read “Resuming normal scientific research work,” images posted online show. News of the protest spread widely on Chinese social media, putting pressure on local authorities.

In an online statement on Monday, the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said Zhang's laboratory was being renovated and was closed for “safety reasons.” It added that it had provided Zhang's team with alternative laboratory space.

But Zhang responded that his team was only offered an alternative after they were notified of the eviction, and that the lab offered did not meet safety standards for conducting their research, leaving his team in limbo.

Zhang's dispute with his host institution was the latest in a series of setbacks, demotions and firings since the virologist published the episode in January 2020 without government approval.

Beijing has sought to control information related to the virus since it first emerged. An Associated Press investigation found that the government froze domestic and international tracing efforts in the early weeks of the outbreak. Today, laboratories are closed, collaborations are broken, foreign scientists are expelled and some Chinese researchers are barred from leaving the country.

Zhang's ordeal began when he and his team decoded the virus on January 5, 2020 and wrote an internal memo warning Chinese authorities about its possible spread – but did not make the sequence public. The next day, Zhang's lab was ordered to temporarily close by China's top health official, and Zhang came under pressure from Chinese authorities.

Foreign scientists soon learned that Zhang and other Chinese scientists had decoded the virus and called on China to release the sequence. Zhang published it on January 11, 2020, despite not having permission from Chinese health authorities.

Sequencing a virus is key to developing testing kits, disease control measures and vaccinations. The virus eventually spread to every corner of the world, triggering a pandemic that paralyzed life and commerce, prompted widespread lockdowns and killed millions of people.

In recognition of his work, Zhang has received awards abroad. But Chinese health authorities fired Zhang from a post at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and banned him from working with some of his former partners, hampering his research.

However, Zhang still enjoys the support of some members of the government. Although some of Zhang's online posts were deleted, his sit-in protest was widely reported in China's state-controlled media, indicating disagreement within the Chinese government over its treatment of Zhang and his team.

“Thank you to my online followers and people from all walks of life for your interest and strong support over the past few days!” Zhang wrote in his post on Wednesday.