British intelligence considering versions on coronavirus origin

British intelligence is again considering the versions about the source of the coronavirus as a result of a leak from a laboratory in Wuhan, Report says, citing the Daily Mail.

According to one of the members of Cobra, the emergency committee led by Boris Johnson, the latest intelligence did not dispute the virus was 'zoonotic' – originating in animals – it did not rule out that the virus first spread to humans after leaking from a Wuhan laboratory.

'There is a credible alternative view [to the zoonotic theory] based on the nature of the virus. Perhaps it is no coincidence that there is that laboratory in Wuhan. It is not discounted.'

One such theory is that the laboratory of the Wuhan Institute of Virology artificially bred the virus, where they studied the immune mechanisms of bats, which can be carriers of infections for a long time but do not get sick. From there, he allegedly broke free. However, Mikhail Shchelkanov, head of the scientific laboratory of microbial ecology at FEFU, told RIA Novosti earlier that "the artificial origin of the new coronavirus is fake."

The Wuhan Institute of Virology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued an open letter because of these accusations, calling them false, and stressing that the conscience of the Institute's employees is clear.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that the international community should fight not only the spread of COVID-2019 but also all kinds of conspiracy theories and "political viruses" around IT. He stressed that the charges of "leaking a virus" or "creating a biological weapon" have no scientific basis.

In total, the World Health Organization has so far reported 1.15 million positive cases, almost 63 thousand patients died.