WHO Investigators Say It Is Unlikely COVID-19 Originated In Wuhan Lab

A team of investigators with the World Health Organization said they have found little evidence that COVID-19 emerged from a virology lab in Wuhan, China. Officials said that the virus was reported in other areas before it began spreading rapidly at a seafood market across the street from the lab.

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered on December 8, 2019.

The WHO sent a team of experts from around the world to Wuhan to probe the origins of the virus. After spending weeks on the ground, touring hospitals, research labs, and the outdoor market near the Wuhan Institute of Virology, they believe the virus originated in an animal and spread to humans.

The investigators said they are still trying to trace the exact origins of the virus but said they will no longer be investigating the virology lab as the source. While some people believe the virus originated in a bat, the investigators aren't positive, pointing out that bats are not common in the areas around Wuhan. They are also looking into evidence that the virus may have come from frozen food or another wild animal that is more common in Wuhan.

"Did we change dramatically the picture we had beforehand? I don't think so," Peter Ben Embarek, head of the WHO's delegation in China, said during a press conference announcing the findings. "Did we improve our understanding? Did we add details to that picture? Absolutely."

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