German Intelligence Agency Assessments Point to Possible Lab Origin of Covid-19

Reports indicate that Germany's foreign intelligence service, BND, assessed in 2020 an 80-90% likelihood that Covid-19 accidentally escaped from a lab, contradicting previous WHO findings and reigniting debates regarding the pandemic's origins.

Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, held a view that there was an 80-90% probability that the coronavirus leaked from a lab in China, according to newly revealed information by two German newspapers. This intelligence assessment, which dates back to 2020, was never made public until now, despite being commissioned by former Chancellor Angela Merkel's office as part of a project known as Project Saaremaa.

The BND's findings suggested that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was engaged in experiments altering viruses to enhance their transmissibility, and raised concerns regarding violations of safety protocols. This analysis reportedly shared with the CIA reflected a significant shift in the narrative regarding the origins of Covid-19, which has been a heated topic of debate since the onset of the pandemic.

While the lab leak hypothesis has gained traction among intelligence communities, China insists that the origins of the virus should be investigated by scientists and not politicized. Official opinions from the Chinese government, including statements from Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, assert that the findings of a joint WHO investigation deemed the lab leak theory “extremely unlikely.”

Despite extensive investigations, including a World Health Organization study in early 2021 that visited Wuhan, debates surrounding the Covid-19 origin persist, with critics of the WHO report asserting it did not adequately consider the lab-leak hypothesis. The natural origin theory, which posits that the virus traversed from bats to humans via intermediary hosts, has also faced scrutiny due to the absence of a direct matching virus.

As both the BND and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment on these developments, the discourse around how the Covid-19 pandemic began continues, drawing varied opinions from the scientific and intelligence communities.