|
 Intelligence agencies are considering two likely scenarios but still
lack strong confidence in their conclusions and are hotly debating
which is more probable, Biden said.
The conclusions were detailed in a report to Biden, who asked his
team in March to detail whether the novel coronavirus "emerged from
human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory
accident," according to the president's written statement.
Biden's unusual public disclosure about private and inconclusive
U.S. intelligence assessments revealed a debate raging within his
administration over where the novel coronavirus originated. It also
lent credence to a theory that the virus may have emerged from a
Chinese research laboratory instead of in nature.
China's embassy in the United States said late on Thursday that
politicizing the issue would hamper investigations into the origins
of COVID-19.
China supports "a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19
found worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive
bases and biological laboratories all over the world," the embassy
said in remarks attributed to a spokesperson, posted on its website.
The pandemic has killed more than 3 million people worldwide and
battered the global economy because of lockdowns and other
restrictions to slow its spread. The origin of the virus remains
contested among experts. The first known cases emerged in the
central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
In a report issued in March and written jointly with Chinese
scientists, a World Health Organization-led team that spent four
weeks in and around Wuhan in January and February said the virus had
probably been transmitted from bats to humans through another
animal, and that "introduction through a laboratory incident was
considered to be an extremely unlikely pathway."
'SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR CHINA'
Washington's frustration has mounted in recent weeks over what it
sees as insufficient cooperation from China into the international
investigation.
"I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their
efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us
closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90
days," Biden said.
"As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry
that may be required, including specific questions for China."
[to top of second column] |
 U.S. agencies have been
pursuing COVID-19's origins since the government
first recognized the virus as a serious health
risk in early 2020.
Earlier this week, U.S. government sources said
a still-classified U.S. intelligence report
circulated during former President Donald
Trump's administration alleged that three
researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of
Virology became so ill in November 2019 that
they sought hospital care. The
source of that early intelligence or how reliable U.S. agencies rate
it is not known. It remains unclear whether the afflicted
researchers were hospitalized or what their symptoms were, one of
the sources said.
Intelligence committees of both the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives are investigating how U.S. agencies have reported on
and gathered information about COVID-19's origin, how it spread and
how governments have responded to it.
A report issued by House Intelligence Committee Republicans earlier
this month focused particularly on the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The Republican report asserted that "significant circumstantial
evidence raises serious concerns that the COVID-19 outbreak may have
been a leak" from the institute, suggested the Wuhan lab was
involved in biological weapons research, and that Beijing had
attempted to "cover up" the virus' origins.
Washington has called for the WHO to open a second phase to its
investigation on COVID-19's origin.
On Wednesday in Geneva, WHO emergency director Mike Ryan said the
agency expected to provide an update on its proposed next steps "in
the coming weeks."
China's delegation to the WHO said on Tuesday it was calling on "all
parties" to "adopt an open and transparent attitude" to cooperate
with the WHO's attempts to trace the virus' origin.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose; Additional
reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington and Stephanie Nebehay in
Geneva; Editing by Alistair Bell, David Gregorio and Peter Cooney)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
