In 2020, Germany's foreign intelligence service, known as the BND, conducted a classified assessment regarding the origins of COVID-19, which suggested an 80-90% likelihood that the virus spilled over from the Wuhan Institute of Virology due to an accidental lab leak. This information was previously undisclosed but was uncovered by German media outlets Die Zeit and Sueddeutscher Zeitung. The BND allegedly had information indicating that the Wuhan lab had been experimenting with viruses to increase their transmissibility.
China has consistently denied these allegations, citing that the origin of the virus should be established through scientific inquiry. In response to the BND findings, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated the conclusion from a World Health Organization investigation which claimed the lab leak theory is "extremely unlikely."
As the debate about the virus's origins continues without a definitive conclusion, recent assessments from several intelligence agencies suggest that the lab leak hypothesis is gaining traction. In January of the current year, the CIA stated that a "research-related origin" of COVID-19 is more probable than the natural transfer theory, based on the existing information, despite admitting to having "low confidence" in this conclusion.
The classified BND report, codenamed Project Saaremaa, indicated potential safety violations at the Wuhan lab and was commissioned by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel's office. The findings were also shared with the CIA late last year. Although outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the BND have refrained from commentary, the ongoing investigations and discourse surrounding the lab leak theory and natural origin hypothesis remain highly contentious.
Opponents of the lab leak theory maintain that COVID-19 originated in bats and was transferred to humans via an intermediary animal. This explanation received backing from the WHO and was initially accepted at the pandemic's onset. However, as time has passed, the search for a virus that could connect directly from bats to COVID-19 has been unfruitful, raising skepticism about the natural origins theory. In light of these developments, calls for continued investigations into the origins of COVID-19 persist.
China has consistently denied these allegations, citing that the origin of the virus should be established through scientific inquiry. In response to the BND findings, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning restated the conclusion from a World Health Organization investigation which claimed the lab leak theory is "extremely unlikely."
As the debate about the virus's origins continues without a definitive conclusion, recent assessments from several intelligence agencies suggest that the lab leak hypothesis is gaining traction. In January of the current year, the CIA stated that a "research-related origin" of COVID-19 is more probable than the natural transfer theory, based on the existing information, despite admitting to having "low confidence" in this conclusion.
The classified BND report, codenamed Project Saaremaa, indicated potential safety violations at the Wuhan lab and was commissioned by then-Chancellor Angela Merkel's office. The findings were also shared with the CIA late last year. Although outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the BND have refrained from commentary, the ongoing investigations and discourse surrounding the lab leak theory and natural origin hypothesis remain highly contentious.
Opponents of the lab leak theory maintain that COVID-19 originated in bats and was transferred to humans via an intermediary animal. This explanation received backing from the WHO and was initially accepted at the pandemic's onset. However, as time has passed, the search for a virus that could connect directly from bats to COVID-19 has been unfruitful, raising skepticism about the natural origins theory. In light of these developments, calls for continued investigations into the origins of COVID-19 persist.
