No definite conclusion on COVID origin theory, says White House

Statement from Washington comes after US Energy Dept concluded the virus most likely leaked from a lab in China

There is no definitive conclusion on the origin of COVID-19 and the intelligence community and the rest of the US government are still looking at this, the White House has said following a report that the Energy Department has concluded the virus most likely leaked from a lab in China.

The pandemic’s origin has been the subject of vigorous debate among academics, intelligence experts and lawmakers. The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, citing a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress, said the virus that drove the COVID-19 pandemic, killing close to 7 million people globally, most likely emerged from a laboratory leak in China.

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Responding to questions about the report, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, “The intelligence community and the rest of the government are still looking at this. There’s not been a definitive conclusion, so it’s difficult for me to say, nor should I feel like I should have to defend press reporting about a possible preliminary indication here.

“What the President [Joe Biden] wants is facts. He wants the whole government designed to go get those facts, and that’s what we’re doing. And we’re just not there yet,” Kirby told reporters at a daily White House news conference on Monday. 

7mn
No. of COVID deaths globally

Hong Kong ends world’s longest mask mandate

Hong Kong will drop its COVID-19 mask mandate, chief executive John Lee said on Tuesday, in a move to lure back visitors and business and restore normal life more than three years after stringent rules were first imposed in the financial hub. The measure will take effect from Wednesday, Lee told a press briefing. The special administrative region of Hong Kong is one of the last places globally that still imposes a mask mandate. Hong Kong started unwinding its stringent COVID rules last year but mask-wearing has remained constant since 2020. “We think this is the best timing to make this decision,” Lee said. In high-risk places such as hospitals, administrators can decide whether to require staff and visitors to wear masks, he said.

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