New WHO report fails to rule out COVID-19 lab leak origin as China continues to impede investigation

A World Health Organization (WHO) scientific advisory group on Friday released a report on the origins of COVID-19, concluding that available evidence suggests the deadly pandemic was caused by “zoonotic spillover,” either directly from bats or through an intermediate host.

The report from the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), which claims to be a panel of 27 independent, international, multidisciplinary experts, said that much of the information needed to fully evaluate all hypotheses has not been provided.

However, still citing a believed cause, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak.”

Members of the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. (Reuters/Thomas Peter. File)

“As the report says, this is not solely a scientific endeavor, it is a moral and ethical imperative,” Marietjie Venter, chair of the group, wrote in a statement. “Understanding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it sparked a pandemic is needed to help prevent future pandemics, save lives and livelihoods, and reduce global suffering.”

“The work to understand the origins of SARS-CoV-2 remains unfinished,” the WHO wrote in a statement. “WHO welcomes any further evidence on the origins of COVID-19, and SAGO remains committed to reviewing any new information should it become available.”