Report from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Office
Diverse Opinions on Natural Occurrence and Accidental Leak
A U.S. intelligence report has been released stating that no direct evidence was found to support the claim that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated from a research facility in Wuhan, China.
According to major foreign media on the 23rd (local time), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which reports directly to the U.S. President, disclosed a declassified four-page report stating that a thorough investigation was conducted on coronavirus strains at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China, but no evidence was found that it caused the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ODNI said, "U.S. intelligence agencies have not ruled out the possibility that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in China, but they have not identified the virus's origin," adding, "There is still no indication that SARS-CoV-2 or a close ancestor was present at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, nor do we have direct evidence that a specific incident involving laboratory staff caused the COVID-19 pandemic."
It further stated, "Both hypotheses remain speculative at this time, and conflicting reports have emerged, so the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other agencies have not determined the exact origin of the COVID-19 pandemic." The two hypotheses referred to here are the leak from a Chinese research facility accident and natural transmission via bats.
The U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) and four intelligence agencies lean toward the natural origin theory, while two agencies including the CIA have not reached a conclusion, indicating that no consensus has been established even within the U.S. Previously, some agencies such as the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pointed to the Wuhan laboratory as the origin of COVID-19, but China has dismissed such claims.
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