China lab leak likely caused COVID pandemic: FBI director

Washington: FBI Director Christopher Wray says the agency has determined a leak at a lab in Wuhan, China likely caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The FBI has held for some time that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential laboratory incident in Wuhan,” Wray told Fox News on Tuesday (AEDT Wednesday).

His comments follow a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday that the US Department of Energy assessed with low confidence that the pandemic stemmed from an accidental lab leak in China.

Four other agencies, along with a national intelligence body, still think the pandemic was likely the result of natural transmission, and two are undecided which diary reported.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday the US government has not reached a definitive conclusion or consensus on the origins of the pandemic.

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China’s Foreign Ministry, asked to comment on the Wall Street Journal Report, which was corroborated by other US media, referenced a World Health Organization report out of China, which suggested a natural origin of the pandemic rather than a laboratory leak.

Wray said he couldn’t share many details of the agency’s assessment because they were classified.

He accused the Chinese government of “doing its best to try to thwart and cover up efforts by the United States and others” to learn more about the origins of the pandemic.