Newspaper: Wuhan plant workers sought medical care before the COVID-19 outbreak was revealed

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a previously undisclosed US intelligence report, that three researchers from the Chinese Wuhan Institute of Virology sought medical care in November 2019, months before China revealed the COVID-19 pandemic.

The newspaper said that the report - which provides new details on the number of researchers affected, the timing of their illness and their hospital visits - may reinforce calls for a broader investigation into whether the virus that causes Covid-19 has leaked from the laboratory.

The report came on the eve of a meeting of the WHO decision-making committee, which is expected to discuss the next step in an investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

A spokeswoman for the US National Security Council did not comment on the newspaper's report, but said that the Biden administration still had "serious questions about the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, including its origin in the People's Republic of China."

She said the US government is working with the World Health Organization and other member states to support an expert assessment of the origins of the pandemic "far from interference or politicization."

"We will not issue statements that anticipate an ongoing WHO study in the source of SARS-Cove-2, but we were clear that technically sound and credible theories must be comprehensively evaluated by international experts," she added.

The Wall Street Journal said current and former officials familiar with the report on researchers at the Wuhan Laboratory expressed several views about the strength of the evidence supporting the report, and an unnamed person said the report needed "more investigation and additional evidence."

In March, the United States, Norway, Canada, Britain and other countries expressed their concerns about the study of the origins of Covid-19 led by the World Health Organization, and demanded further investigations and allow full access to everyone involved, whether humans or animals, and other data on the early stages of the outbreak.

A source familiar with the matter said Washington is keen to ensure increased cooperation and transparency from China.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

On Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicated that a team led by the World Health Organization had concluded that laboratory infusion was highly unlikely after a visit to the Institute of Virology in February.

"The United States continues to promote the laboratory leak theory ... is it really interested in tracking the source or is it trying to distract attention?" The ministry said in response to a request from the newspaper for comment.

The administration of former President Donald Trump said it suspects the virus may have leaked from a Chinese laboratory, which Beijing denies.

Reuters reported in February that China refused to provide draft data on initial cases of COVID-19 to the team led by the World Health Organization to investigate the origins of the pandemic, citing one of the team's investigators, which could complicate efforts to understand how the outbreak began.

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