Covid reported to be a lab leak
New intelligence has prompted the Energy Department in USA to conclude that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic, US officials said Sunday.
The conclusion was a change from the department’s earlier position that it was undecided on how the virus emerged.
Officials would not disclose what the intelligence was. But many of the Energy Department’s insights come from the network of national laboratories it oversees, rather than more traditional forms of intelligence like spy networks or communications intercepts.
Intelligence officials believe the scrutiny of the pandemic’s beginnings could be important to improving global response to future health crises, although they caution that finding an answer about the source of the virus may be difficult or even impossible given Chinese opposition to further research. Scientists say there is a responsibility to explain how a pandemic that has killed almost 7 million people started, and learning more about its origins could help researchers understand what poses the biggest threats of future outbreaks. more