Not intentionally, but that bio lab just a few miles from the infection site is pretty convenient. We know about Chinese construction quality, and in a country that uses gutter oil as a cheaper alternative to legitimate cooking oil, cutting corners on a bio lab would not be a surprise. Or, maybe someone snuck some of the used lab animals out to sell over at that market across the river.  Note that there was an article in 2017 about that lab being opened and their plans to research the most dangerous viruses known to man. Then one of those shows up in people less than 10 miles from the lab... As one of the CDC guys said, "it makes you wonder".