The US Department of Energy has assessed that an accidental leak from a laboratory in China may have caused the spread of Covid-19, according to new findings reported by the media Sunday, although the White House stressed that intelligence agencies remain divided on the issue.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper quoted unnamed sources that new intelligence information obtained by the US Department of Energy suggests that the virus leaked from a laboratory.
However, it stressed that this new information was published with a low level of confidence from the US Department of Energy that oversees biological laboratories.
According to the economic daily newspaper, the US Department of Energy agrees with the FBI in estimating that the pandemic that appeared in early 2020 and has since claimed seven million people and turned life upside down for months is the result of an accidental leak from a laboratory in China.
On the other hand, four other US intelligence agencies have expressed their belief that Covid resulted from natural transmission, while two other agencies haven’t yet decided their decision in this regard, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“So far, no definitive answer has emerged from the intelligence agencies on this matter,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN.
In mid-February, the WHO director-general vowed to do his best to get an answer about the origins of Covid-19, denying reports that the organization had abandoned its investigation.
The scientific community considers it important to know the origin of this pandemic in order to be able to fight it more effectively or even avoid a future pandemic.
