FBI says Chinese lab leak most likely cause of COVID-19 pandemic

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considers a leak from a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan to be the most likely cause of the coronavirus pandemic. This was stated by FBI Director Christopher Ray in an interview with Fox News. “The FBI has for some time now believed that the source of the pandemic is most likely a possible laboratory incident in Wuhan,” Ray said on February 28. He added that the mentioned laboratory is run by the state, and the Chinese authorities are “doing everything possible to interfere” with the efforts of the United States and its partners to clarify the circumstances of the outbreak of the pandemic.

This is most likely a leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which is under the control of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2015, the first biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in mainland China was opened here. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning responded by saying that China is against political manipulation on the origin of the coronavirus. In her opinion, the FBI has taken up scientific issues that are unusual for it, which can be called politicization of the origin of the coronavirus. “We call on the American side to respect science and facts, to stop politicizing the issue of tracking the origin of the coronavirus,” she said.