Kathmandu, May 27. On Wednesday, the President of the United States, Joe Biden ordered the national intelligence agencies to submit reports on the “origin of coronavirus” within 90 days.

“Agencies should redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” Mr Biden said in the official white house statement.

Earlier in March, President Biden requested the agencies to submit intel reports.

According to the White House, the agencies have come up with two possible origins of the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus:

1. The virus first emerged from human contact with an infected animal in Wuhan, China.
2. The virus accidentally leaked from a highly secure research laboratory in Wuhan.

On Wednesday, Biden ordered the experts to reach the definitive conclusion within 3 months.

Issues with China

In the statement issued on Wednesday, Biden said, “Back in early 2020, when COVID-19 emerged, I called for the CDC to get access to China to learn about the virus so we could fight it more effectively. The failure to get our inspectors on the ground in those early months will always hamper any investigation into the origin of COVID-19.”

Biden also said that the US will constantly put pressure on China to cooperate in the transparent investigation and provide access to evidence. “As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China.” the statement reads.

China’s Reaction

Reacting to the White House statement, On Thursday, the Chinese embassy in the US issued a statement, saying that the smear campaign and conspiracy theory of “lab-leak” are making a comeback. As the pandemic is still causing great damage, the politicization of the issue would hamper the investigation as well as the international cooperation. 

“While the pandemic is still causing great damage in today’s world and the international community is expecting greater coordination among countries … Out of a sense of responsibility towards the health of mankind, we support a comprehensive study of all early cases of COVID-19 found worldwide and a thorough investigation into some secretive bases and biological laboratories all over the world,” Chinese embassy wrote.