United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report on Friday regarding the Intelligence Community (IC) assessment of the origins of the COVID-19 virus. The IC concluded that the SARS-CoV-2 was not developed by China as a biological weapon and the Beijing officials weren’t aware of the virus before the global outbreak.
Agencies were not able to agree on a single likely origin of COVID-19 as four IC elements and the Intelligence Council pinned natural exposure to infected wildlife, while one of the IC elements believes the virus occurred following a laboratory-associated incident.
“China’s cooperation most likely would be needed to reach a conclusive assessment of the origins of COVID-19. Beijing, however, continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information, and blame other countries,” the report said. The declassified report is based on data available through August 2021.