More than a year since the outbreak of COVID-19 all over the world, many scientists and leaders have yet to determine the origins of the pandemic that has killed millions of people. US President Joe Biden recently ordered the US intelligence community to ramp up efforts in studying the virus’s origins.
Biden has ordered the intelligence community to double down on its efforts to study the origins of the coronavirus. Biden added that it will continue to press China to cooperate in a full investigation into how the disease came to be. Prior to the order, Biden explained that he had received a report earlier this month with an updated analysis of the origins of COVID-19.
However, Biden told the agencies to increase their efforts to reach a “definitive conclusion” on how the coronavirus was transmitted to humans. The coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, China in the latter part of 2019 and has since spread around the globe. Johns Hopkins has reported that almost 168 million people in the world have been infected with COVID-19.
“I have now asked the intelligence community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion and report back to me in 90 days. As part of that report, I have asked for areas of further inquiry that may be required, including specific questions for China,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
China has been sensitive to questions surrounding its immediate response to the coronavirus when it was first reported. Now, Biden’s request also includes asking the intelligence community to explore the possibility that the virus may be traced back to a Chinese lab despite months of minimizing said possibility.
The aftermath of the pandemic has resulted in the passage of Biden’s American Rescue Plan, providing funds for Americans who have been struggling financially throughout the pandemic. The plan passed on party lines, without any support from Republicans in the House and the Senate. However, Biden made a swipe towards Republican lawmakers who have been touting the benefits of the plan despite voting against the bill.
Speaking at a facility in Cleveland, Ohio to promote his upcoming infrastructure plan, Biden took a moment to make fun of the Republicans who touted provisions without a vote of support. Biden held out a list of Republicans who touted the bill’s provisions despite voting against its passage but did not read the names aloud.