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US agency says covid-19 may have leaked from lab – here's what to know

The US Department of Energy says that covid-19 most likely originated from an unintentional laboratory leak in China, according to a classified document. However, it has not released evidence supporting the claim

By Grace Wade

28 February 2023

Security personnel keep watch outside Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in??Wuhan, Hubei province, China February 3, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter - RC2TKL9J8J25

Security personnel outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2021

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The US Department of Energy (DOE) may have new evidence to suggest that the virus responsible for the covid-19 pandemic originated from a laboratory in China. The news is the latest in an ongoing and contentious debate about the origins of SARS-CoV-2.

 

What evidence does the DOE have?

Unnamed US officials briefed on a classified document told The Wall Street Journal that the agency now believes that an accidental laboratory leak in Wuhan, China, started the covid-19 pandemic. This …

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