No theory about the COVID-19 pandemic's origins should be discounted at this stage of the global investigation, even as a new federal report suggests a laboratory leak may be the cause, the World Health Organization's top official said March 3.
The U.S. Energy Department identified a lab leak as the most likely cause of the COVID-19 pandemic in late February, though officials said the conclusion was made with "low confidence." The federal report has spurred renewed attention on COVID-19's origins, with some Republicans calling for additional investigations and for the report to be declassified.
"I wish to be very clear that WHO has not abandoned any plans to identify the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, contrary to recent media reports and comments by politicians," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said during a March 3 press briefing.
The WHO is working with Chinese authorities to share data and conduct necessary investigations in the country.
"Until then, all hypotheses on the origins of the virus remain on the table," Dr. Tedros said.