Washington: There is no definitive conclusion on the origin of COVID-19 and the intelligence community and the rest of the US government are still looking
Washington: There is no definitive conclusion on the origin of COVID-19 and the intelligence community and the rest of the US government are still looking at this, the White House has said following a report that the Energy Department has concluded the virus most likely leaked from a lab in China.
The pandemic’s origin has been the subject of vigorous debate among academics, intelligence experts and lawmakers.
The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress, said the virus that drove the COVID-19 pandemic, killing close to 7 million people globally, most likely emerged from a laboratory leak in China.
Responding to questions about the report, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said: “The intelligence community and the rest of the government are still looking at this. There’s not been a definitive conclusion, so it’s difficult for me to say, nor should I feel like I should have to defend press reporting about a possible preliminary indication here.
“What the President (Joe Biden) wants is facts. He wants the whole government designed to go get those facts, and that’s what we’re doing. And we’re just not there yet,” Kirby told reporters at a daily White House news conference on Monday.
The Huanan market in central China’s Wuhan city was the epicentre of the pandemic. From its origin there, the SARS-CoV-2 virus rapidly spread to other locations in Wuhan in late 2019 and then to the rest of the world.
