The CIA has released a new assessment on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, stating it is “more likely” that the virus leaked from a Chinese laboratory than emerged naturally from animals.
However, the agency noted that this determination is made with “low confidence,” indicating a lack of definitive and conclusive intelligence.
The assessment, shared on Saturday, marks an early decision by the CIA’s new director, John Ratcliffe, who was appointed by President Donald Trump earlier this week.
Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term, has been a proponent of the lab leak theory, which suggests the virus may have originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The institute is located near the Huanan wet market, where the first cluster of infections was reported.
