Coronavirus not developed as a bioweapon: US intelligence community

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Joe Biden said that China was withholding "critical information" on the origins of COVID-19 after the U.S. intelligence community said it did not believe the virus was a bioweapon -- but remained split on whether it escaped from a lab.

“Critical information about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People's Republic of China, yet from the beginning, government officials in China have worked to prevent international investigators and members of the global public health community from accessing it. To this day, the PRC continues to reject calls for transparency and withhold information, even as the toll of this pandemic continues to rise,” said Biden in a statement.

Also Read: U.S. Coronavirus origin report inconclusive; China blames U.S. for politicization

The US intelligence community reached “broad agreement” by stating the virus was not developed as bioweapon and most US agencies assess with “low confidence”, it was not genetically engineered, according to an unclassified summary of a report.

According to the study summary, “Variations in analytic views largely stem from differences in how agencies weigh intelligence reporting and scientific publications, and intelligence and scientific gaps.”

The US President said, “We must have a full and transparent accounting of this global tragedy. Nothing less is acceptable.”

However, according to an unclassified summary intelligence report, The United States, does not believe Chinese officials had hunch of the virus before the initial outbreak of the pandemic that has claimed 4.5 million lives.

Reportedly, Beijing has rejected calls from the United States and the other countries for a renewed origin probe after a heavily politicized visit by a World Health Organization team in January also proved inconclusive, and faced criticism for lacking transparency and access.

Follow us on Facebook