Coronavirus may have leaked from a lab in Wuhan, US report reveals

The origins of COVID-19 have been brought into question again after fresh global interest in enquiries into whether it may have leaked from a lab in Wuhan. Now, a report by a US government national laboratory claims that the lab-leak hypothesis is plausible, urging further investigation into the virus’ origins.

Reported first by the Wall Street Journal, the study was undertaken over the course of May 2020 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. After completion, the study was forwarded to the US State Department during the last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, when interest in the lab-leak theory was starting to brew again.

According to WSJ, the lab based their assessment on the genomic analysis of COVID-19 virus.

Scientists across the world have now joined the chorus in demanding further enquiry, especially after US President Joe Biden ordered aides to probe the virus’ origins.American agencies posit two scenarios - that the virus leaked from the lab due to a malfunction or that the virus spread among humans after contact with an infected animal. No conclusions have been drawn yet.

An earlier report by The Wall Street Journal released on Monday alleges that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were sick with Covid-like symptoms before the outbreak in November 2019, for which they sought medical care.

US top infectious disease expert Fauci has urged further probe into the virus' origins after coming under the radar for alleged connections with the Wuhan laboratory.

Meanwhile, US officials claim that China has not been transparent about the origins ofCOVID-19. Beijing has continued to denied this charge, claiming that the virus emerged naturally. On Monday, a World Health Organization official, Mike Ryan said that the agency cannot force China to reveal more details on the origins of the pandemic, but revealed plans to commission further probes into the same.