The U.S. Energy Department reportedly newly assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China. 

The Energy Department, which was previously undecided on the origin of the pandemic, now joins the FBI’s stance that the coronavirus likely spread due to a mishap at a Chinese laboratory, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress. 

The development was noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines’s office, according to the newspaper. 

The National Intelligence Council and four other agencies assess at "low confidence" that the COVID-19 pandemic originated due to natural transmission from an infected animal, while the CIA and another unnamed agency are undecided. The updated report maintains a consensus between all the intelligence agencies that the pandemic was not the result of a Chinese bioweapons program.   

US ‘CONFIDENT’ CHINA CONSIDERING PROVIDING LETHAL EQUIPMENT TO RUSSIA, CIA DIRECTOR SAYS