Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that there was "enormous evidence" that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China.
"There is enormous evidence that this is where it began," he said on ABC's "This Week."
But while highly critical of China's handling of the matter, Pompeo declined to say whether he thought the virus had been intentionally released.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday did not mince words at a White House event on Thursday, when asked if he had seen evidence that gave him a “high degree of confidence” the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“Yes, yes I have,” he said, declining to give specifics.
“I can’t tell you that. I’m not allowed to tell you that.” The Chinese state-backed Wuhan Institute of Virology has dismissed the allegations, and other US officials have downplayed their likelihood.
Most experts believe the virus originated in a market selling wildlife in Wuhan and jumped from animals to people.
Trump said previously his administration was trying to determine whether the coronavirus emanated from the Wuhan lab, following media reports it may have been artificially synthesized at a China state-backed laboratory or perhaps escaped from such a facility.
