Declassified gov't report provides no support for lab-leak theory on COVID-19: Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. intelligence report declassified and released on Oct. 29. provides no support for the lab-leak theory on COVID-19, the Los Angeles Times has said.

With the release of the report, the hopes of adherents of the theory that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory are "dashed," as the report "effectively demolishes the lab-leak theory," said an opinion piece published in the paper on Nov. 1.

The full report, which follows the publication of a brief declassified summary in August, emphasizes the inability of intelligence agencies to "reach a firm conclusion about whether SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID pandemic, originated from natural sources or a Chinese laboratory," it said.

Extensive wildlife and livestock farming, wildlife trafficking, among others, raise "the probability that initial transmission occurred along these lines," it added.

The report was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, an umbrella agency for 17 government intelligence services, including the CIA, FBI, four Cabinet agencies and the intelligence arms of the military services.