According to a study that was disclosed on Friday, U.S. intelligence agencies did not discover any concrete proof that the COVID-19 epidemic was caused by an incident at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.
However, the four-page study by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) stated that the U.S. intelligence agency was still unable to completely rule out the idea that the virus originated in a lab and had been unable to identify the pandemic's origins.
"The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both (natural and lab) hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting," the ODNI report said.
Although "extensive work" had been done on coronaviruses at the Wuhan institute (WIV), according to the report, the agencies had not discovered proof of a particular incidence that could have started the outbreak.
"We continue to have no indication that the WIV's pre-pandemic research holdings included SARSCoV-2 or a close progenitor, nor any direct evidence that a specific research-related incident occurred involving WIV personnel before the pandemic that could have caused the COVID pandemic," the report said.
Since the first human cases were identified in Wuhan in late 2019, the origins of the coronavirus pandemic have been the subject of raging discussion in the US.
In March, US President Joe Biden authorised the declassification of documents pertaining to the pandemic's beginnings.
At the time of signing, Biden stated that he agreed with Congress' desire to make as much information regarding the COVID-19's genesis available as feasible.
The controversy was reignited in February by a Wall Street Journal article that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded in a classified intelligence analysis with "low confidence" that the pandemic was most likely caused by a laboratory leak in China, a conclusion Beijing disputes.
On February 28, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that his organisation has long believed the pandemic's beginnings were "most likely a potential lab incident" in the Chinese city of Wuhan. This accusation, according to China, has "absolutely no credibility."
As of March 20, four additional US government organisations continued to believe that Covid-19 was most likely the result of natural transmission, while two remained unsure.
(Source:www.deccanherald.com)
However, the four-page study by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) stated that the U.S. intelligence agency was still unable to completely rule out the idea that the virus originated in a lab and had been unable to identify the pandemic's origins.
"The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both (natural and lab) hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting," the ODNI report said.
Although "extensive work" had been done on coronaviruses at the Wuhan institute (WIV), according to the report, the agencies had not discovered proof of a particular incidence that could have started the outbreak.
"We continue to have no indication that the WIV's pre-pandemic research holdings included SARSCoV-2 or a close progenitor, nor any direct evidence that a specific research-related incident occurred involving WIV personnel before the pandemic that could have caused the COVID pandemic," the report said.
Since the first human cases were identified in Wuhan in late 2019, the origins of the coronavirus pandemic have been the subject of raging discussion in the US.
In March, US President Joe Biden authorised the declassification of documents pertaining to the pandemic's beginnings.
At the time of signing, Biden stated that he agreed with Congress' desire to make as much information regarding the COVID-19's genesis available as feasible.
The controversy was reignited in February by a Wall Street Journal article that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded in a classified intelligence analysis with "low confidence" that the pandemic was most likely caused by a laboratory leak in China, a conclusion Beijing disputes.
On February 28, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that his organisation has long believed the pandemic's beginnings were "most likely a potential lab incident" in the Chinese city of Wuhan. This accusation, according to China, has "absolutely no credibility."
As of March 20, four additional US government organisations continued to believe that Covid-19 was most likely the result of natural transmission, while two remained unsure.
(Source:www.deccanherald.com)
