A report by US Republicans released on Monday said a “preponderance of evidence” proves the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic leaked from a Chinese research facility.
China has denied that a genetically modified coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan facility – where the first Covid-19 cases were discovered in 2019. (Photo credit: Reuters)
A vast body of evidence proves the virus that caused the Covid-19 pandemic has leaked from a Chinese research facilitysaid a report released Monday by US Republicans at a conclusion US intelligence agencies failed to reach.
The report also cited “ample evidence” that scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) – backed by US experts and Chinese and US government funds – were working to modify coronaviruses to infect people, and such tampering could be hidden .
Rep. Mike McCaul, senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the report from the panel’s Republican staff. It called for a bipartisan investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, which killed 4.4 million people worldwide.
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China denies a Genetically modified coronavirus leaked from the Wuhan facility – where the first Covid-19 cases were discovered in 2019 – a leading theory, but not proven by some experts. Beijing also denies cover-up allegations.
Other experts suggest the pandemic was caused by an animal virus that was likely transmitted to humans at a fish market near the WIV.
“We now believe it is time to completely dismiss the wet market as a source,” the report said. “We also believe that the preponderance of evidence proves that the virus leaked from the WIV and that it did sometime before September 12, 2019.”
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The report cited new and under-reported information about safety protocols in the laboratory, including a July 2019 request for a $ 1.5 million overhaul of a hazardous waste treatment system for the facility that was less than two years old.
In April, the leading US intelligence agency said it agreed with the scientific consensus that the Virus was not made by humans or genetically modified.
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In May, US President Joe Biden ordered US intelligence to speed up their hunt for the origins of the virus and report back in 90 days.
A source familiar with recent intelligence assessments said U.S. intelligence has not yet come to a conclusion as to whether the virus came from animals or WIV.
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