The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) considers a laboratory leak as a possible origin of COVID-19 rather than natural transmission.
However, the spy agency states that it has low confidence in this assessment.
“We have low confidence in this judgement and will continue to evaluate any available credible new intelligence reporting or open-source information that could change CIA’s assessment,” the CIA said in a statement.
Since the first instances of COVID-19 were linked to Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, the CIA names China as the possible origin of the virus.
The report presented on Saturday was not derived from any fresh information. The conclusion was reached at the request of the administration of former President Joe Biden and former CIA Director William Burns.
The outcomes were declassified and revealed under the directive of John Ratcliffe, the newly appointed CIA director by President Donald Trump.
Although numerous initially endorsed the theory of a natural origin for the pandemic, others have also advocated for the potentiality of a laboratory mishap as its cause.
The CIA stated that both research-related and natural origin scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic are still considered plausible.
On January 9, 2020, the first COVID-19-related mortality was reported in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. A 61-year-old man who frequently visited the Huanan Seafood Market—which was first connected to the outbreak—was the patient.
On January 30, 2020, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first COVID-19 case in the Philippines. The patient, a 38-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan, arrived in Manila via Hong Kong on January 21.
Based on the Department of Health’s (DOH) Nationwide Cases Data Tracker dated January 8, 2024, it reported a cumulative total of 4,140,885 total cases; 6,138 active cases; 4,067,381 recovered; and 66,864 deaths.
