The Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely to have emerged from a lab than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday. The agency had for years said it could not conclude whether COVID-19 was the result of a lab incident or originated in nature.

The CIA now assesses the virus that causes Covid-19 more likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, rather than occurring naturally, according to a statement from the agency Saturday, just days after Director John Ratcliffe took the reins.

On Saturday, the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offered a new assessment of the origin of the COVID-19 outbreak, saying the coronavirus is "more likely"

The CIA on Saturday offered a new assessment on the origin of the Covid outbreak, saying the coronavirus is "more likely" to have leaked from a Chinese lab than to have come from animals. But the intelligence agency cautioned it had "low confidence" in this determination.

The US spy agency points the finger at China while acknowledging it has "low confidence" in its own conclusion, which is based on fresh analysis of intelligence about the spread of the virus.

The CIA suggests a lab leak in China as the likely origin of Covid-19 but notes the conclusion is made with low confidence.

The Central Intelligence Agency with a "low confidence" has changed its stance and concluded that it's likely the COVI-19 virus was leaked from a Chinese lab before it became a global pandemic five years ago.