Scientists advising the World Health Organization on its investigation into the origins of Covid-19 said further studies were needed into whether the disease escaped from a lab.
In its first preliminary report, the so-called Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) stressed that it had no conclusive findings on the origins of the virus behind the worst global pandemic in a century.
The team of 27 experts was set up by the WHO last year to produce a new global framework for studies into emerging pathogens with the potential of sparking epidemics or pandemics.
It has been tasked with providing an independent assessment on a way forward in the thorny investigation into the origins of the SARS CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 disease. "There are key pieces of data that are not yet available for a complete understanding of how the Covid-19 pandemic began," they acknowledged in their report.