NEWS//Origins of COVID-19
Did the Wuhan virus originate in a China laboratory?
Yes
The White House is pointing fingers in that direction.
State Department officials reported on their visit to the Wuhan laboratory in January 2018. They warned of the possibility of viruses escaping the lab. The report also noted that the lab's research on coronaviruses from bats showed that such viruses had the potential for human-to-human transmission. (The Washington Post published the report on April 14).
Fox News quoted anonymous officials on April 15 that the U.S. government has "increasing confidence" that the epidemic started accidentally at a Chinese lab.
Maybe
However, on April 30, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said it was still investigating the matter. In other words, it had not found clear evidence the virus came from that laboratory. That reported stated, "The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan.”
Yes
In spite of that finding by the U.S. National Intelligence agency, President Trump said the next day that he has a "high degree of confidence" that the outbreak originated in a lab accident in China. And on May 3, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "While the intelligence community continues to do its work, they should continue to do that, and verify so that we are certain, I can tell you that there is a significant amount of evidence that this came from that laboratory in Wuhan."
Probably no
Allies of the United States do not seem convinced, however. Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing partnership between the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. This group has had access to shared intelligence between those countries. In a 15-page report, Five Eyes says that China's cover-up of the epidemic cost tens of thousands of lives. But the report doesn't place the blame for the virus on a lab.
The Australian government believes there is just a 5% chance the virus came from the Wuhan lab and maintains it is more likely to have originated in a wet market.
Sources: Washington Post, Fox News, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, CNN, ABC 7 News, ABC News, Daily Telegraph