There's another option. Or multiple. Let's explore four sets of lab characters:
Set 1: Lab characters NOT privy to any information that work on the virus was happening.
Set 2: Lab characters aware that work on the virus was a thing but NOT privy to any other information, and NOT aware that it escaped, but of course they'll find out.
Set 3: Lab characters that WERE aware that it escaped but thought it was an accident.
Set 4: Lab characters that WERE aware that it escaped while on transfer to HK where it was to be released.

The point here is that, in such a lab, of course there is going to be a hierarchy of "need to know" characters. The difficulty with regards to a script is going to be how much of that complexity to include.

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep working on it.

There was, in real life, 'Gain-of-function' work going on at WIV to make bat viruses more contagious. They (including Batwoman) published papers on it. It was considered somewhat controversial but not too bad - their rationalization was 'we need to manipulate viruses to stay ahead of the curve so that when the outbreak comes we'll be ready to deal with it'.

On that level everyone would know that that type of work was going on. However, in terms of hitting the jackpot with SAR-2 - that sweet-spot you talked about - highly contagious, not too deadly, but deadly enough to get attention - that's where your hierarchy of who knows what would come in.

A lot of the justification for this type of work, apart from trying to anticipate a virus that may evolve in nature, is also to anticipate biological warfare strains that other countries might be working on. After the anthrax incidents in the US, there was an explosion in this these type of purpose-built labs around the world.

The thing is, that in the process of predicting what the other side might be coming up with, you're creating deadly strains yourself. If you come up with one that ticks all the boxes, then it's not gonna be lost on the higher-ups that this is something we need to keep in our arsenal - just in case.

The beauty of it, the part that may have proved too seductive to its owners, is, this weapon can achieve all the results you want without firing a shot.

You let off a nuclear weapon then the whole world will know about it and you better be prepared for retaliation. (Or in the HK case, you commit a Tiananmen Square type massacre, you need to deal with the fallout from that which may strain those decade long ties you've been building with academics/politicians/business people around the world.)

You release a virus though, then you get to achieve all your goals - HK, Xinjiang, discord around the world, showcase the primacy of your lockdown/surveillance system, divert the course of history - and nobody can pin anything on you.

Yes, it's a conspiracy theory. But unlike a lot of conspiracy theories, that require a complicated alignment of myriad moving parts, there's a simplistic, logical beauty to it. The prize on offer for those prepared to seize the initiative is colossal.