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Summary
- US President has sought a detailed report on source of virus.
- He said the US will press for fairer international investigations in the world.
- The pandemic has left 3.5 million people dead till now.
US President Joe Biden has upped the ante on investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering the US intelligence officials to conduct a detailed probe and report back in 90 days. The earlier investigation has zeroed in on two plausible scenarios for the origins of the pandemic – human contact or laboratory accident.
“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyse information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
The report is to be submitted within three months from now.
“As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China,” he added.
As of date, among the US Intelligence Community, two elements think that virus has spread through human contact, while one element thinks that it spread through a lab leakage. All three have “low or moderate” confidence in their assumptions.
The US President also said that he would press for a fair international investigation of COVID-19 pandemic in China – a country that has been showing tremendous friction to foreigners.
“The United States will also keep working with like-minded partners around the world to press China to participate in a full, transparent, evidence-based international investigation and to provide access to all relevant data and evidence,” he said.
Also Read: Is COVID-19 preying more on vulnerable countries?
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019 in China’s Wuhan, the world has seen 169 million cases and 3.5 million people dead due to the contagious virus.
While the virus might have ripped through the countries across the world, China – its place of origin – has reported a miniscule 91,019 cases only.
