Bloomberg:

What do Chinese scientists and experts think is the most likely origin of SARS-CoV-2? Thank you.

Zhou Lei:

Thank you for your question. We have already reached a conclusion on the origins of SARS-CoV-2 through the joint study in the first phase, which was fully presented in the report released by the WHO-China Joint Mission at that time. You are welcome to read it carefully, as we clearly stated our assessment of several hypotheses regarding the origins of SARS-CoV-2. First, we evaluated the potential sources of the outbreak in the report, including humans, animals, cross-species transmission, and lab leak scenarios. We had an epidemiological group, an animal origin tracing team, and a molecular origins tracing team within our joint mission, all conducting studies in Wuhan from various angles. As a result, we believe that the comprehensive assessment-based conclusions we reached at that time are scientifically sound and credible. To reiterate, our conclusion back then was: direct zoonotic transmission to humans (spillover) is "possible to likely," introduction through an intermediate host is " likely to very likely," introduction through cold/ food chain products is "possible," and introduction through a laboratory incident is "extremely unlikely."

Following the first phase of joint studies on the origins of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, our work did not stop. We continued many studies based on the work plan and recommendations for subsequent stages formulated in Wuhan at that time. Various additional results have reinforced the findings of our first phase of study in Wuhan. In response to your question, our assessment remains unchanged and can be looked up in the study report jointly released back then. Thank you.