WASHINGTON: US intelligence agencies said on Friday they may never be able to identify the origins of Covid-19, as they released a new, more detailed version of their review of whether the coronavirus is animal-to-human. Came from transmission or leaked. the laboratory
A natural origin and a laboratory leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans, the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in an unclassified report. But it said analysts disagree about which is more likely or whether a definitive assessment can be made.
The report also rejected suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bio-weapon, saying that proponents of the theory “do not have direct access”. wuhan Institute of Virology” and has been accused of spreading propaganda.
The report released on Friday is an update of the President’s 90-day review Joe BidenThe U.S. administration was released in August, amid intense political conflict over how much to blame China for the effects of the global pandemic, rather than governments that haven’t moved quickly enough to protect citizens.
China responded by criticizing the report on Friday.
“The US move to rely on its intelligence rather than scientists to trace the origins of Covid-19 is a complete political farce,” said Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu. Washington, said in an emailed statement.
“… this will only undermine basic science-based studies and hinder the global effort to find the source of the virus,” the statement said.
former republican president Donald Trump – who lost his bid for re-election as the deadly pandemic ravaged the US economy – and many of his supporters referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus”.
Some US spy agencies strongly supported the explanation that the virus originated in nature. But there has been little confirmation and in recent months the virus has spread widely and naturally to wild animals.
The ODNI report said that four US spy agencies and a multi-agency body have “low confidence” that Covid-19 originated from an infected animal or a related virus.
But one agency said it had “moderate confidence” that the first human Covid-19 infection was most likely the result of a laboratory accident, perhaps an experiment by the Wuhan Institute of Virology or involving handling of animals.
US spy agencies believe they will not be able to offer a more definitive explanation for the origins of Covid-19 without new information demonstrating that the virus took a specific route from animals to humans or that a Wuhan laboratory virus or related virus. Before Covid-19 emerged.
The report said US agencies and the global scientific community lack a “complete understanding of epidemiological data from clinical samples or the earliest Covid-19 cases” and added that more evidence would emerge if more evidence emerged. It may revisit this inconclusive finding.
China has faced international criticism for failing to cooperate more fully in the investigation into the origins of Covid.
The embassy’s statement shrugged off that criticism as well.
“We are supporting science-based efforts on origin tracing, and will continue to be actively engaged. That said, we strongly oppose attempts to politicize the issue,” it said.
A natural origin and a laboratory leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans, the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in an unclassified report. But it said analysts disagree about which is more likely or whether a definitive assessment can be made.
The report also rejected suggestions that the coronavirus originated as a bio-weapon, saying that proponents of the theory “do not have direct access”. wuhan Institute of Virology” and has been accused of spreading propaganda.
The report released on Friday is an update of the President’s 90-day review Joe BidenThe U.S. administration was released in August, amid intense political conflict over how much to blame China for the effects of the global pandemic, rather than governments that haven’t moved quickly enough to protect citizens.
China responded by criticizing the report on Friday.
“The US move to rely on its intelligence rather than scientists to trace the origins of Covid-19 is a complete political farce,” said Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu. Washington, said in an emailed statement.
“… this will only undermine basic science-based studies and hinder the global effort to find the source of the virus,” the statement said.
former republican president Donald Trump – who lost his bid for re-election as the deadly pandemic ravaged the US economy – and many of his supporters referred to Covid-19 as the “China virus”.
Some US spy agencies strongly supported the explanation that the virus originated in nature. But there has been little confirmation and in recent months the virus has spread widely and naturally to wild animals.
The ODNI report said that four US spy agencies and a multi-agency body have “low confidence” that Covid-19 originated from an infected animal or a related virus.
But one agency said it had “moderate confidence” that the first human Covid-19 infection was most likely the result of a laboratory accident, perhaps an experiment by the Wuhan Institute of Virology or involving handling of animals.
US spy agencies believe they will not be able to offer a more definitive explanation for the origins of Covid-19 without new information demonstrating that the virus took a specific route from animals to humans or that a Wuhan laboratory virus or related virus. Before Covid-19 emerged.
The report said US agencies and the global scientific community lack a “complete understanding of epidemiological data from clinical samples or the earliest Covid-19 cases” and added that more evidence would emerge if more evidence emerged. It may revisit this inconclusive finding.
China has faced international criticism for failing to cooperate more fully in the investigation into the origins of Covid.
The embassy’s statement shrugged off that criticism as well.
“We are supporting science-based efforts on origin tracing, and will continue to be actively engaged. That said, we strongly oppose attempts to politicize the issue,” it said.
.