Covid-19 pandemic: Lab leak highly unlikely, bats to blame, says WHO

A joint WHO-China study on the origins of Covid says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by AP.

The findings offer little new insight into how the virus first emerged and leave many questions unanswered, though that was as expected. But the report does provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers' conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.

The report is expected to be made public on Tuesday.