CIA now says Covid-19 more likely to have come from lab, says Reuters

By Erin Banko

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Central Intelligence Agency said on Saturday it was “more likely” that the COVID-19 outbreak originated in a laboratory than in nature, an agency spokesman said on Saturday.

The agency has said for years that it cannot conclude whether Covid-19 was the result of a laboratory phenomenon or of natural origin. But in the final weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA director William Burns asked CIA analysts and scientists to make clear decisions, emphasizing the historical significance of the outbreak, a senior US official said.

The CIA said it had “low confidence” in the assessment, saying that “a research-related origin of the COVID-19 outbreak is more likely,” and in a statement that both scenarios — a laboratory origin and a natural source — remain plausible.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was unclear how much new information the agency has gathered on the origins of Covid-19 and whether that new evidence was used to prepare the latest assessment.

The Chinese government said it supported and participated in research to find out the origin of Covid-19, and accused Washington of politicizing the issue, especially in the efforts of American intelligence agencies to investigate.

Beijing has said there is no credibility to claims that a lab leak caused the outbreak.

In an interview with Breitbart following his confirmation by the US Senate on Friday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said one of his first priorities would be to have the agency conduct a public review of the origins of the outbreak.

“It’s a day-one thing for me,” he said. “As you know, I think our intelligence, our science and our common sense suggest that the origin of Covid is a leak. Wuhan Institute of Virology.”