Washington: The US Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office.
The development was notified via a classified intelligence report, which was recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The Energy Department was previously unsure about the origin of the virus. However, in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office, the report highlights how different parts of the intelligence community have arrived at disparate judgments about the pandemic’s origin.
Meanwhile, according to the WSJ report, the people who read the classified report said the US Energy Department made its judgement with ‘low confidence’.
However, with its judgement, the department now joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation in saying that the Covid-19 virus was likely spread via a mishap at a Chinese laboratory. Four other agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still judge that it was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided.
Earlier too, the FBI had concluded the coronavirus pandemic resulted from a lab leak in China in 2021. The agency still holds on to its view.
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