COVID-19 began in Wuhan, China, with its first case being recorded in December of 2019. It quickly spread through the world affecting more than 600 million people. No one knew where it originated from.

New intelligence has prompted the U.S. Energy Department to believe that COVID-19 was caused by an accidental leak in a Chinese laboratory.

Many officials have come out and said that the Energy Department’s conclusion was with low confidence according to the New York Times. Intelligence agencies classify their assessments at different levels of confidence. Low confidence, in this scenario, means that the information obtained was not very reliable, and there is no information available to thoroughly look through. 

Many agencies have been split on the origin of COVID-19 for years. Some believe that it originated from animals and spread to humans naturally. Others believe it started in Wuhan, China, where the first case was originally reported. 

A speaker from the Energy Department spoke to CNN stating, “The Department of Energy continues to support the thorough, careful, and objective work of our intelligence professionals in investigating the origins of COVID-19, as the President directed.” 

Although speculation is going around through the 18 different agencies in the U.S., Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, declined to comment or confirm on any of the laboratory leak intelligence reports. 

As of today, March 2, 2023, this information is all that has been collected.