Wuhan

Debate has raged among experts since the start of the pandemic almost two years ago over the origin of the virus.

Zhang Zhan, 38, a former lawyer, travelled to Wuhan in February 2020 to report on the chaos at the pandemic's epicentre, questioning authorities' handling of the outbreak in her smartphone videos.

The Office of the US Director of National Intelligence says that a natural origin and a lab leak are both plausible hypotheses for how SARS-COV-2 first infected humans although it dismisses suggestions that it originated as a bioweapon.

Lotus, which is owned by Chinese firm Geely and Malaysia's Etika Automotive, plans to begin production at its Wuhan factory next year, producing around 2,000 compact SUVs.

US intelligence has ruled out that the coronavirus was developed as a weapon, and most agencies assess with 'low confidence' it was not genetically engineered.

Saintis ingatkan peluang untuk mengetahui asal usul pandemik Covid-19 semakin tertutup.

China says calls for further data are motivated by politics instead of scientific inquiry.

WHO also urges China to release information to address the controversial lab leak theory.

Mass testing and contact tracing campaigns have uncovered a trail of Delta variant infections.

The central Chinese city has reported its first local infections in more than a year.

The report cites 'ample evidence' that the lab – aided by US experts and Chinese and US government funds – was working to modify coronaviruses to infect humans.

Beijing's vice health minister says the plan shows 'disrespect' and 'arrogance towards science'.