ToplineThe U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic was most likely caused by a laboratory leak, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, though National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said there is “not a definitive answer" on the virus’ genesis. An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China's ... [+] central Hubei province on April 17, 2020. The Energy Department, which oversees many U.S. laboratories, came to its conclusion based on new intelligence, but deemed its level of confidence in its judgment as “low,” people who read the report told the Journal. The FBI also determined in 2021 with “moderate confidence” the virus came from a lab leak, but the agency came to its conclusion for different reasons than the Energy Department, U.S. officials told the Journal. It’s widely understood that Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, originated in Wuhan, China, where the first outbreak occurred, but the virus’ exact origins are less certain.

Source: Forbes February 27, 2023 02:53 UTC