Ahead Of US Intelligence, Republican Report Calls Coronavirus Caused By Chinese Laboratory Leaks

Illustration of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. (Wikimedia Commons/Ureem2805)

JAKARTA - Much of the evidence pointing to the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic comes from leaks of Chinese research facilities, according to a report by the United States of Republican Party released on Monday local time.

This conclusion precedes US intelligence agencies which have yet to conclude after President Joe Biden wanted his intelligence agency to help investigate the origins of the virus that caused the global pandemic since last year.

The report also cites 'much evidence' that Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) scientists, aided by US experts and Chinese and US government funds, are working to modify the Coronavirus to infect humans, and such manipulation can be hidden, citing Reuters Monday, August 2.

US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee member, Mike McCaul, released a report by a Republican panel of staff. He urged a bipartisan investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed 4.4 million people worldwide.

Previously, China denied a genetically modified coronavirus leaked from a laboratory facility in Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 cases were detected in 2019, a leading theory but yet to be proven among some experts. Beijing has also denied allegations of a cover-up.

Other experts suspect the pandemic was caused by an animal virus that was likely transmitted to humans at a seafood market near the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

"We now believe it is time to completely ignore the wet market as a source",c the report said.

"We also believe there is a lot of evidence that proves that the virus did leak from WIV and that it happened before September 12, 2019", the report continued.

The report cites what it calls new and under-reported information about safety protocols in the laboratory, including a July 2019 request for a $1.5 million overhaul of the hazardous waste treatment system for the facility, which is less than two years old.

In April, US intelligence agencies said they agreed with the scientific consensus that the virus was not man-made or genetically modified.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden in May ordered US intelligence agencies to speed up their search for the origins of the virus and report back within 90 days.

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

"As part of the report, I have asked for areas of further investigation that may be needed, including questions specific to China".

Separately, a source familiar with current intelligence assessments said the US intelligence community had not yet concluded whether the virus had an animal origin or the Wuhan Institute of Virology.