Report: US intelligence believes COVID could be result of lab leak

26 February 2023, 8:40 pm

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This undated, colorized electron microscope image made available by the US National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, indicated in yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, indicated in blue/pink, cultured in the lab. (NIAID-RML via AP, File)

A classified document provided to the White House and key members of US Congress indicated that the COVID-19 virus most likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The updated opinion, produced by the US Energy Department, was attached to an existing document produced by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office.

The department, which is responsible for a network of labs in the US, including some that conduct biological studies, reportedly made its conclusion based on new intelligence — which officials declined to detail.

However, according to those who have seen the report, the department apparently indicated that it has “low confidence” in its judgment.