The US Department of Energy thinks the coronavirus pandemic likely started after a leak in a Chinese laboratory, but the White House said on Sunday that US intelligence is divided on the issue.
The statement – which appears in a report deemed confidential by Avril Haines, director of national intelligence – represents a change in attitude from the Department of Energy, which previously did not make a decision on the origin of the virus.
People who had access to the confidential report, cited by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, say the department delivered its verdict with “little confidence,” underlining how various U.S. agencies remain divided over the origins of Covid-19. the pandemic that shook the world in early 2020.
The conclusion, supposedly the result of new intelligence information, is important because this department oversees a network of laboratories, including some that conduct advanced biological research.
In this way, the Department of Energy joins the FBI in believing that the pandemic, which caused nearly seven million deaths worldwide, was the result of an accident in a laboratory in China.
Four US intelligence agencies believe the covid originated through natural transmission, while two others are still undecided, according to the Wall Street Journal.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that there are “different views” on the issue.
“At this time, there is no definitive answer from the intelligence community on this matter,” he told CNN on Sunday.
China vehemently rejected the U.S. Department of Energy’s hypothesis, calling on those involved to “stop defaming China and stop politicizing the origin tracing issue.”
“An escape from a laboratory was not considered possible by authoritative scientific conclusions from a team of experts from China and the WHO,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A few weeks ago, the World Health Organization pledged to do everything possible “until an answer is found” about the origins of the covid, while denying information suggesting WHO had dropped its investigation.
The scientific community considers it crucial to find out the origins of the pandemic in order to fight and even prevent the next one.
Source: DN
