Amid the ripe speculation about the origin of COVID-19 virus, FBI chief recently confirmed that it was a leak from the Wuhan-based lab in China, that caused the virus to spread across the country first, and across the globe in the months to come. As per Worldometers, as many as 68,00,335 lakh people became the tragic part of the COVID-19 pandemic death toll, as of March 1, 2023.
Christopher Wray, the director of the FBI, has made a statement that the agency believes COVID-19 may have originated from a potential lab incident in Wuhan, China. In an interview with Fox News, Wray stated that the origins of the pandemic are most likely due to a lab leak in China, and he accused the Chinese government of obstructing efforts by the US and other nations to gain more information about the pandemic’s origins.
Wray also added that due to the sensitive nature of the information, he could not disclose many details about the FBI’s assessment, since they were classified.
Meanwhile, China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning denied the claims, and was quoted saying, “By rehashing the lab-leak theory, the U.S. will not succeed in discrediting China, and instead, it will only hurt its own credibility.” “We urge the U.S. to respect science and facts,” she added.
The Facts of the Matter
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has had significant consequences on global health, economy, and society. As of 2023, the virus has infected millions of people worldwide and caused millions of deaths.
Further, the pandemic has led to a debate around the origin of the virus, with some suggesting that it originated from a laboratory leak while others believe it emerged from natural transmission.
FBI Chief Opens Up About COVID-19 Origin
Recently, FBI director Christopher Wray made shocking claims, adding more fuel to the intense debate, by claiming that it was a leak in Wuhan lab, that was the cause of the virus’ spread.
Recently, FBI Director Christopher Wray publicly confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic was most likely caused by a laboratory leak in China. According to Wray, the FBI has assessed for some time that the virus emerged from a government-controlled laboratory in Wuhan.
China Tried to “Thwart” Investigation
“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan. Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab,” he was quoted saying.
He also stated that the Chinese government has been impeding the investigation, using the words “thwart” and “obfuscate”, into the pandemic’s origins.
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Department of Energy, White House Also Opines
The statement comes amid new findings by the Department of Energy. The Department of Energy has also shifted its position on the pandemic’s origins. The intelligence has assessed in “low confidence” that the pandemic was most likely the result of an unintended lab leak, unlike its position in 2021, which remained undecided.
Meanwhile, earlier on Monday this week, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that the US government has yet to arrive at a conclusive determination or agreement regarding the origins of the pandemic.
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China Denies Claims
Further, China too has remained unbudged from its original position, and categorically denied the claims of the FBI chief.
“By rehashing the lab-leak theory, the U.S. will not succeed in discrediting China, and instead, it will only hurt its own credibility. We urge the U.S. to respect science and facts … stop turning origin tracing into something about politics and intelligence, and stop disrupting social solidarity and origins cooperation,” China Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
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