The coronavirus likely leaked from a Chinese lab. This is stated by the US Department of Energy in a classified intelligence report, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Ministry of Energy has not previously taken a position on the question of the origin of the virus, but the new assessment is said to have been based on new intelligence, writes the American newspaper.
In the past, the FBI has also made the assessment that the pandemic was probably the result of a lab leak. However, four other ministries still assess that the coronavirus likely arose naturally.
The classified intelligence report was recently submitted to the White House and members of the US Congress, writes the Wall Street Journal.