A report on the origins of COVID-19 has been declassified

 Research, editing : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

News on covi traceability, U.S. 

News (1) to (4) / Reporter : Li Li / Editor : Yun Tao / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2023/06/24/a103737552.html

News (1)

U.S. government declassifies a report on the origins of COVID-19

Image : A laboratory technician wearing protective equipment (PPE) handles samples for testing at a Covid-19 testing laboratory in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, 5 August 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

On Friday (23 June 2023), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a government report on the origin of COVID-19. The chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee and the Coronavirus Pandemic Committee said the report confirmed the theory that the virus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.

The report's assessment included the National Intelligence Council (NIC), Department of Energy, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other unnamed agencies.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Congress passed legislation requiring the declassification of information related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and the origins of the pandemic.

The declassified report provides an in-depth analysis of the activities of the Wuhan Institute of Virology before the pandemic and presents the U.S. intelligence community's understanding of the origins of COVID-19.

The report noted that the virus was not genetically engineered or created as a biological weapon. However, various agencies have disagreed on the origin of the laboratory.

Most agencies, including the National Intelligence Council and four other intelligence agencies, agree that the virus likely arose from exposure to naturally infected animals or close relatives.

However, both the DOE and the FBI believe the virus originated in a laboratory.

News (2) 

Reverse Gene Cloning Technology for Viruses

Before the outbreak, the Wuhan Institute of Virology collaborated with the Chinese military on "public health-related research." Some scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted experiments on coronaviruses, but there was no evidence that the viruses were genetically modified, the report said.

In March, the U.S. intelligence community expanded its investigation of COVID-19 to explore whether initial human infection occurred through natural contact with infected animals or was linked to a laboratory incident.

Before the pandemic, the Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted extensive research on coronaviruses, including genetic analysis and sampling of animals, especially bats, the report noted.

From 2017 to 2019, the Wuhan Institute of Virology funded research projects and involved some of its personnel in the projects, which it said were aimed at "enhancing the understanding of pathogens and the early warning capabilities of diseases to meet the military's defense and biosecurity needs." .

Citing a 2017 paper by a student at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the report stated that there was no evidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was involved in deliberate genetic modification related to SARS-CoV-2, but reverse genetic cloning was used for SARS-like coronaviruses technology.

News (3)

Insufficient biosafety precautions in Wuhan laboratory

Before the pandemic, the Wuhan Institute of Virology was under the spotlight for biosafety concerns when dealing with SARS-like coronaviruses.

The report noted that some researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology "did not take adequate biosafety precautions when dealing with SARS-like coronaviruses, at least some time before the pandemic," raising the potential risk of exposure to the virus .

Even after the Wuhan Institute of Virology's BSL-4 laboratory was accredited in 2017, there was still a lack of transparency about which pathogens required higher biosafety limits, the report highlighted. Additionally, the facility lacks properly trained personnel.

In 2019, despite known risks, experiments were conducted in laboratories with lower security ratings.

In 2020, a few months after the outbreak of COVID-19, inspections found many problems in the high-containment laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, requiring updated equipment, additional disinfection measures, and improved ventilation systems, among others.

The report cautions that the findings, made during the institute's crisis response to the COVID-19 outbreak, "do not necessarily indicate" the biosecurity status of WIV prior to the outbreak.

However, the report also noted that in the fall of 2019, some WIV researchers became ill before the outbreak of COVID-19. The U.S. intelligence community's assessment of whether they were infected with SARS-CoV-2 was "neither for nor against" and said their symptoms were "consistent with COVID-19, but not diagnostic."

News (4)

U.S. Congressman: Covid virus Originated from Wuhan Virus Lab

Representative Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the coronavirus pandemic task force subcommittee, said in a joint statement. The statement said the declassified report was "a promising step towards full transparency."

Two Republican lawmakers declared that "everyone should know the truth." Information gathered by the committee during the current and previous congresses "supports the possibility of a leak from the lab," the two said.

Turner and Winstrup also said their committee would continue to investigate the origins of COVID-19 and "the information obtained today will assist in further investigations".

"The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese military need an explanation. This declassified report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the intelligence community confirms that the coronavirus outbreak likely originated from the Wuhan virus laboratory."

The original "US Declassifies COVID-19 Origins Report" was published in The Epoch Times