Review puts paid to lab-leak theory claims

22 scientists conclude in global paper that virus likely crossed from animals

The virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic almost certainly originated from a wild animal and not from a laboratory leak, according to a report from nearly two dozen leading virus experts from around the globe.

Among the 22 contributors to the report is Stephen Goldstein, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Their paper, "The Origins of SARS-CoV-2: A Critical Review", was published in early July.

It concluded: "The documented epidemiological history of the virus is comparable to previous animal market-associated outbreaks of coronaviruses with a simple route for human exposure."