President Biden directs “redoubling” of COVID-19 origin investigation

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. intelligence community was divided on the origin in China of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, including whether it came from human contact with an infected animal or a laboratory accident.

Biden said in a statement that he has called for further investigation into the pandemic’s origins.

He said that U.S. intelligence are looking into two different scenarios, that they do not have high confidence in their current conclusions and that they are divided on which is most likely.

“I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,”Biden said.

“As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.”

U.S. agencies have been aggressively investigating COVID-19’s origins since the U.S. government first recognized the virus as a serious health risk in early 2020.