Former US Health Body Chief Says Coronavirus "Escaped" From Chinese Lab

His views are at odds with the dominant theory among experts that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is genetically related to coronaviruses in bats, crossed into humans naturally, probably via an intermediate animal.

The former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the coronavirus escaped from a laboratory in China, he said in an interview that aired Friday. Robert Redfield, who served in the top public health role under former president Donald Trump, told CNN: "If I was to guess, this virus started transmitting somewhere in September, October, in Wuhan, China." Stressing he was offering "only an opinion," he added: "I am of the point of view that I still think the most likely etiology of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a laboratory, escaped." "Other people don't believe that. That's fine -- science will eventually figure it out. It's not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect a laboratory worker."