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WHO report points to animal source of virus

The coronavirus was likely transmitted initially from bats to humans through another animal and not from an accident in a Chinese lab, scientists reported.

WHO scientists outside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan
WHO scientists outside the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan (AN/CGTN)

GENEVA (AN) — The initial spread of the coronavirus was likely transmitted from bats to humans through another animal and not from an accident in a Chinese lab, a team of World Health Organization-led international and Chinese scientists concluded in a new report released on Tuesday.

The much-anticipated 120-page report provided more details about how COVID-19 was first reported in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, but it did little to advance what is already publicly known about the origins of the virus or to dispel the skepticism among some officials in the United States and other nations about whether China fully cooperated with WHO scientists.

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