The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the entire world, leading to widespread lockdowns as the virus rapidly spread across countries.
On January 25, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released a new assessment, saying it’s more likely that the Covid-19 outbreak leaked from a lab in China.
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“Covid-19 was a leak from Wuhan Institute of Virology”
Sinar Harian reported that the United States intelligence agency concluded, though with low confidence, that the Covid-19 pandemic was more likely the result of laboratory research activities rather than occurring naturally through animals.
A spokesperson mentioned,
“The CIA is still looking into the virus’s origins and believes both the lab leak and natural occurrence possibilities are still plausible, given the evidence.”
This new assessment came after John Ratcliffe was named CIA director on January 23 (Thursday) under Donald Trump’s administration.
“Based on common sense, I believe the origin of Covid-19 was a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Ratcliffe added.
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“China must ‘pay’ for the pandemic they caused”
A United States official told AFP that the shift in stance was based on a new analysis of existing intelligence, which was directed by former CIA Director William Burns.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas said he was glad with the CIA’s latest disclosure, calling the lab leak theory the most reasonable explanation and praising Ratcliffe for declassifying the assessment.
He added,
“Now the most important thing is to demand that China ‘pay’ for the pandemic they unleashed on the world.”
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Also read: MOH: HMPV Outbreak in China is Not a New Virus, Over 300 Cases Reported in Malaysia in 2024
