George Gao, the former head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, stated on Friday that "there is no evidence so far that the virus causing COVID came from animals. The original cause of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown." China faces criticism for allegedly impeding efforts to learn more about the origin of the virus. The Chinese government claims it "has always supported efforts to investigate the origin of the disease."
In this context, the World Health Organization noted that "all hypotheses regarding the primary cause of COVID-19 are still on the table, including the hypothesis that the virus is linked to a high-security laboratory studying dangerous pathogens in Wuhan." China denies any connection to the laboratory.
The organization also mentioned that evidence so far suggests that "the virus likely came from animals, possibly bats." Last month, Chinese scientists uploaded data from the early days of the pandemic to a global database. This data included genetic sequences from over a thousand samples taken from the environment and animals at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan in January 2020. An international research team indicated that "the data showed the DNA of multiple animal species, including raccoon dogs, was present in environmental samples that tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus." This suggests they are "the most likely channels for transmitting the disease."
