U.S. intelligence community: COVID-19 'not man-made or genetically modified' in China lab

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Thursday that the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that the COVID-19 virus was “not man-made or genetically modified” in China.

However, the office, which oversees the country’s network of spy agencies and advises the president on such matters, said it will continue to “rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence” to determine whether the outbreak began through human contact with infected animals or was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan, China.  

The office also said the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusion is in line with “wide scientific consensus” on how the deadly virus started. 

“As we do in all crises, the community’s experts respond by surging resources and producing critical intelligence on issues vital to U.S. national security," the office also said. 

The announcement is among the most recent developments in the international search for an answer as to how the virus originated – which includes the hypothesis that it was modified and released into the world by the Chinese communist government.

World leaders including President Trump have been critical of how China addressed the pandemic, saying it was too slow to identify and announce the existence of the virus, which has infected more than 3 million people worldwide and killed roughly 220,000. 

Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo each have been critical of China for not allowing outside experts, including some for the U.S., into the lab to help determine how the virus started. 

China has said the virus started at a wild animal food market about eight miles from the laboratory.