The Central Intelligence Agency said COVID-19 likely originated from a lab leak in China in a Saturday statement, pivoting from a previously neutral stance just a few days after Director John Ratcliffe was sworn in,

The Central Intelligence Agency switched its view to conclude that COVID-19 most likely originated from a Chinese lab leak.

The Central Intelligence Agency said Saturday that it’s more likely a lab leak caused the Covid-19 pandemic than an infected animal that spread the virus to people, changing the agency’s yearslong stance that it couldn’t conclude with certainty where the pandemic started.

The assessment released Saturday points at China while acknowledging that the CIA has “low confidence” in its own conclusion.

The Central Intelligence Agency said the Covid-19 pandemic “more likely” originated from a lab leak than a natural source, shifting its stance after previously saying both scenarios were possible.

The agency said it has “low confidence” in its judgment and that it would continue evaluating new intelligence reporting.

The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a lab. Here’s what to know about the declassified document released Saturday

The intelligence agency says it has a “low confidence” in its new finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of the virus that killed millions worldwide.

Spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States Liu Pengyu commented on the reports that the US CIA leans toward the theory that the COVID-19 pandemic originated from a virus leak at a labor

But the US intelligence agency cautions it has "low confidence" in this new determination.

The Central Intelligence Agency has shifted its official stance on the origin of Covid-19, saying Saturday that the virus was "more likely" leaked from a Chinese lab than transmitted by animals.