A U.S. congressional report suggests that COVID-19 may have originated from a laboratory leak in Wuhan, China.
The report, which took over two years to prepare, highlights potential safety lapses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where similar viruses were reportedly being studied under “inadequate levels of biological safety.”
One argument presented in the report is that the virus possesses biological characteristics not previously seen in nature. Furthermore, lawmakers pointed out that, unlike COVID-19, other pandemics have typically shown a singular point of origin, whereas this virus appeared to spread from multiple origins.
The report claims that the first individuals infected with a COVID-19-like virus were researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. These cases allegedly occurred in the fall of 2019, months before the virus was detected at a wildlife market.
The authors of the report state that no conclusive evidence has been provided to support a natural origin for the virus. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not verified the laboratory origin theory.
The report was led by Republican Congressman Brad Wenstrup.
