FBI Director Christopher Wray Claims COVID-19 Likely Originated in Chinese Government-Controlled Lab

FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the bureau believes Covid-19 most likely originated in a Chinese government-controlled lab.

"The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident," he told Fox News.

It is the first public confirmation of the FBI's classified judgement of how the pandemic virus emerged.

The FBI has publicly confirmed their classified assessment of the origins of the pandemic virus, which some scientists have claimed there is no evidence that it originated from a lab. There are differing opinions among other US government agencies, with some suggesting that the virus may have jumped from animals to humans instead of originating in a lab.

The White House has stated that there is no consensus on the virus's origins across the US government. Although a joint China-World Health Organization (WHO) investigation in 2021 called the lab leak theory "extremely unlikely," it faced criticism, and its director-general has called for a new inquiry stating that all hypotheses require further study.

The US ambassador to China has also called for China to be more transparent about the virus's origins. The FBI's investigation details remain classified, but their team of experts is focusing on biological threats. Chinese officials have accused Washington of political manipulation, and some studies suggest that the virus may have originated from the Wuhan seafood and wildlife market, which is near the Wuhan Institute of Virology.