German Intelligence Suggests COVID-19 Likely Originated from Wuhan Lab

A 2020 report by Germany's BND assessed an 80-95% likelihood of a lab accident causing the pandemic, but findings were not made public at the time.

Germany's foreign intelligence agency, the BND, concluded in 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic likely resulted from a lab accident at China's Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The assessment, based on public data and an intelligence operation code-named 'Saaremaa,' indicated risky gain-of-function research and safety violations at the lab.
The report estimated an 80-95% probability of a lab origin but was not disclosed publicly by the German government under Angela Merkel or Olaf Scholz.
The findings were shared with the CIA in 2024, which also leans toward the lab-leak theory but maintains low confidence in its assessment.
China has consistently denied the lab-leak hypothesis, citing a 2021 WHO investigation that deemed it 'extremely unlikely,' though calls for further inquiry persist.