Pandemic
Corona intelligence info: Joe Biden signs declassification bill
US President Joe Biden signed legislation allowing the release of intelligence material about possible links between the outbreak of the corona pandemic and a laboratory in Wuhan, China
© Richard PIERRIN / AFP
US President Joe Biden has signed legislation releasing intelligence information on the origin of the coronavirus. The subject is also the thesis of a laboratory accident in Wuhan, China.
US President Joe Biden has passed a law to release secret documents on the origin of the corona pandemic. It is also about “possible connections to the Institute of Virology in (the Chinese city) of Wuhan,” Biden said on Monday. His government will release “as much information as possible”. However, it must be ensured that there is no damage to national security.
He shares Congress’ goal of releasing as much information as possible about the origin of the virus, Biden said. The aim is to be able to better prevent future pandemics. When published, however, no information would be disclosed that could endanger national security.
Coronavirus first emerged in Wuhan in 2019
“We need to get to the bottom of the origins of Covid-19 to ensure we can better prevent future pandemics,” Biden said. “My government will continue to review all classified information related to the origins of Covid-19, including possible links to the Institute of Virology in Wuhan.”
Congress had passed a corresponding law about a week and a half ago. There is reason to believe that the corona pandemic originated in a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the text said. Therefore, the US intelligence coordinator should release “as much information as possible” about the origin of the virus and make it available to the public. However, it initially remained unclear what information the government would release and when.
The corona virus first appeared in the Chinese metropolis in 2019. While many experts see animal-to-human transmission at an animal market in Wuhan as the origin of the pandemic, there is also the theory of a laboratory accident in the city.
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US authorities split on theory about corona origin
In February, several US media reported that the US Department of Energy, which is responsible for overseeing laboratories, now assumes that the corona virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory. The US Federal Police FBI is of the same opinion.
However, the US authorities, including the various secret services, do not agree on their assessments. Some authorities think it’s more likely that the virus was transmitted naturally from animals to humans. The question is also controversial in science.
The topic is also highly charged politically. China regularly and outragedly rejects information about a possible laboratory accident. The virus has killed an estimated seven million people worldwide. The pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have had serious economic and social consequences.