Investigating COVID-19 Source, President Joe Biden Deploys Intelligence

President Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - U.S. President Joe Biden ordered his aides to determine the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19, saying on Wednesday local time with United States intelligence agencies tracing the theory of the most potential cause.

Intelligence agencies are considering two possible scenarios, but still lack confidence in their conclusions and are warmly debating which is more likely, Joe Biden said.

That conclusion was detailed in a report to Joe Biden, who asked his team in March to detail whether the novel coronavirus emerged from human contact with infected animals, or from laboratory accidents according to a written statement, reported Reuters Thursday, May 27.

President Biden's unusual public disclosure of classified and unconvincing United States intelligence assessments reveals the raging debate within his administration about where the new coronavirus came from.

It also gives credence to the theory that the virus may have emerged from a Chinese research laboratory, not from nature.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 3 million people worldwide. The origin of the virus is still disputed among experts. The first known case appeared in Wuhan City, central China in December 2019.

In a report issued in March and co-authored with Chinese scientists, the World Health Organization (WHO) led team spent four weeks in and around Wuhan in January and February.

The team said the virus may have been transmitted from bats to humans through other animals. Meanwhile, suspected viruses stemming from laboratory incidents are considered a highly unlikely pathway.

Washington's frustration has increased in recent weeks, over what it sees as inadequate cooperation from China in international investigations.

"I have now asked the intelligence community to redouble their efforts, to gather and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days," President Biden said.

"As part of that report, I have requested areas of further investigation that may be required, including specific inquiries for China," he continued.

United States agencies have been pursuing the origins of COVID-19 since the government first recognized the virus as a serious health risk in early 2020.

Earlier this week, U.S. government sources said a still-undisclosed United States intelligence report circulated during the administration of former President Donald Trump, accusing three researchers at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology of becoming so ill in November 2019 that they sought hospital treatment.

The source of this initial intelligence or how reliable the agency's assessment is is unknown. It remains unclear whether the affected researchers were hospitalized or what their symptoms were, said one of the sources.

Meanwhile, the intelligence committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are investigating how U.S. agencies have reported and gathered information about the origin of COVID-19, how it was spread and how the government responded to it.

A report issued by the House intelligence committee from Republicans earlier this month focused on the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The report asserts that significant indirect evidence raises serious concerns.

The COVID-19 outbreak is said to be a leak from the institute, suggesting Wuhan laboratories are involved in biological weapons research, with Beijing trying to mask the origin of the virus.

Yesterday, WHO Emergency Director Mike Ryan who is WHO's emergency director Mike Ryan said they hope to provide an update on the next proposed measures in the coming weeks regarding the origin of the virus.

Meanwhile, China's delegation to WHO on Tuesday called on all parties to adopt an open and transparent stance, in order to cooperate with WHO's efforts to track the origin of the virus.

Wuhan Institute of Virology. (Wikimedia Commons/Ureem2805)