The FBI director has said the agency believes COVID-19 “most likely” came from a lab leak in China.
“The FBI has been evaluating the origins for quite some time now the epidemic Most likely a potential laboratory event in Wuhan,” Christopher Wray told Fox News.
Mr Ray said he could not share many details of the agency’s assessment because they are classified.
He accused the Chinese government of “doing its best to obstruct and confuse” efforts by the United States and other countries to learn more about the origins of the pandemic.
His comments followed a Wall Street Journal report that the DoE’s assessment of the pandemic was low in confidence. Caused by an accidental laboratory spill in China.
The agency said the virus was not designed as part of a weapons program.
Four other agencies, as well as a national intelligence group, still believe the epidemic is likely the result of natural transmission, while two have not yet determined.
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The United States has not yet reached a clear conclusion
On Monday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. government has yet to reach a clear conclusion and consensus on the origin of the pandemic.
According to a 2021 report, the official position of the World Health Organization (WHO) is that it is “highly unlikely” that the virus came from the Wuhan lab — but the possibility has not been completely ruled out.
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It said the most likely explanation was that the virus originated in bats, then spread to intermediate animals and then to humans.
In response to the Wall Street Journal report, China’s foreign ministry pointed to the natural origin of the pandemic, rather than a laboratory leak.