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The origins of COVID-19 most likely came from bats, through another animal and in humans, a study between the World Health Organization porcelain has found.
The possibility of a laboratory leak as the source of the pandemic was “extremely unlikely,” according to a preliminary copy of the findings obtained by The Associated Press.
Former President of the United States Donald Trump previously claimed that he had seen evidence of the coronavirus outbreak originated in an infectious disease laboratory in Wuhan.
The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered, and the team proposed further investigation in all areas except the laboratory leak hypothesis.
The report’s release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to avoid putting the blame for the pandemic on China.
The AP received what appeared to be a near-final version on Monday from a Geneva-based WHO member country diplomat.
It was unclear if the report could still be modified before publication.
The diplomat did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to make it known before its publication.
The researchers listed four scenarios in order of probability.
They concluded that it was most likely transmitted through a second animal.
They assessed direct spread from bats to humans as likely, and said spread through “cold chain” food products was possible but not likely.
The closest relative of the virus that causes Covid-19 has been found in bats, which are known to carry coronaviruses, but the report said that “the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated at several decades, which suggests a missing link ”.
He said that very similar viruses have been found in pangolins, but he also noted that mink and cats are susceptible to the Covid virus, suggesting that they could be carriers.
The report is largely based on a visit by a WHO team of international experts to Wuhan, the Chinese city where Covid-19 was first detected, from mid-January to mid-February.
Peter Ben Embarek, the WHO expert who led the Wuhan mission, said on Friday that the report had been finalized and was being verified and translated.
“I hope that in the next few days the whole process will be completed and we can make it publicly known,” he said.
