This company is based in Shanghai, not Wuhan

30 January 2020
What was claimed

The lab from which the coronavirus originated has a similar symbol as the lab responsible for a mass outbreak in the Resident Evil games.

Our verdict

The source of the new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has not yet been identified. The lab is based in Shanghai, not Wuhan and there is no reason to think it has anything to do with the new coronavirus.

Several Facebook and Instagram posts have claimed that that lab where the Wuhan coronavirus virus “manifested” has a similar logo to that of the fictitious Umbrella Corporation, a company responsible for a viral outbreak which drives the main plot of the Resident Evil game franchise. 

However, this is untrue.

The lab in the picture is not in Wuhan and it does not do any work related to the virus—it is a Shanghai-based company called Shanghai Ruilan Bao Hu San Biotech Limited that works in the fields of genetic testing and immune systems

The US Centre for Disease Control has said the source of the new coronavirus outbreak hasn’t been identified.

Comparisons between the logos of the Shanghai firm and the Umbrella Corporation have been circulating online since long before the new coronavirus outbreak. While it is somewhat of a coincidence that the symbols are similar, it is the only similarity here. 

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