According to Tong Yigang, a Chinese scientist, the Covid-19 virus may have sprung from humans. He said this at a news briefing the Chinese State Council conducted to discuss its investigation into the virus’s genesis.

Viral samples from Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Market, which is regarded as the epicentre of the epidemic, had genetic sequences that were “nearly identical” to those of people who had been exposed to the coronavirus. This prompted the hypothesis that Covid-19 might have descended from humans.

Moreover, Yigang stated that between January and March 2020, researchers collected more than 1,300 samples of frozen animals and ambient material from the market. From the ambient samples, they discovered three viral strains. However, he claimed that there was little evidence to back up recent studies that claimed the Covid-19 virus originated in raccoon dogs.

To track down the virus’s ancestors, Zhou Lei from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for worldwide scientific cooperation. She made the observation that Covid-19 might not have originated at the location where it was first found.

The director of the WHO’s emerging diseases programme referred to the lack of information as “just unforgivable.” China has repeatedly claimed that it has cooperated and been open with the WHO.

The United States (US) Department of Energy’s recent study, which speculated that the virus may have been the consequence of a laboratory accident, has rekindled debates over the virus’s origins. The US agency, however, has designated this evaluation as having “low confidence” in it.