The Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely to have emerged from a lab than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The agency had for years said it could not conclude whether COVID-19 was the result of a lab incident or originated in nature.

China on Monday dismissed the possibility that the virus that caused COVID-19 leaked from a lab, after the CIA said it now favors the so-called lab leak theory over natural transmission. “It is extremely unlikely the pandemic was caused by a lab leak,

The CIA now assesses the virus that causes Covid-19 more likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, rather than occurring naturally, according to a statement from the agency Saturday, just days after Director John Ratcliffe took the reins.

Langley joins the FBI and Energy Department in agreeing that a lab leak is the most likely source of the pandemic.

The intelligence agency says it has a “low confidence” in its new finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of a virus that killed millions worldwide.

The Central Intelligence Agency with a "low confidence" has changed its stance and concluded that it's likely the COVI-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese lab before it became a global pandemic five years ago.

It was unclear the extent to which the agency has collected new intelligence on COVID-19's origins and whether that new evidence was used to formulate the latest assessment.

The Central Intelligence Agency switched its view to conclude that COVID-19 most likely originated from a Chinese lab leak. The change comes shortly after CIA Director John Ratcliffe was sworn into his new position,

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) backs the COVID-19 lab leak theory, Knewz.com can reveal. According to an assessment by new CIA director John Ratcliffe, the agency has “low confidence” in this conclusion,