Closing wet markets is a matter of public health

The cause of the world’s current problem was initially believed to be the continued use of the so-called “wet markets” in Wuhan. At first, there were concerns that the virus had been spread from the consumption of snake meat. Scientists later suggested that it had come from undercooked bat.

Chinese authorities have already shut down wild animal traders, on the fear that their goods sparked the coronavirus pandemic. Yet now, officials are offering tax incentives to the multibillion-dollar animal-products industry to ship some of these animal products overseas. If the virus was spread from the consumption of either bat or endangered pangolin, then why should we allow China to continue to export these goods?