The top US general said on Tuesday it was still unknown whether the coronavirus emerged from a wet market in China, a laboratory or some other location.
“Did it come out of the virology lab in Wuhan? Did it occur in a wet market there in Wuhan? Did it occur somewhere else? And the answer to that is: We don’t know,” Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference, according to Reuters.
Milley added that the US government was looking into the issue.
The comments come after US President Donald Trump said last week he had seen evidence linking the novel coronavirus to a lab in Wuhan, China, though he would not provide further details.
“Yes, I have,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked directly whether he had seen evidence that gives him confidence the virus was tied to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“And I think that the World Health Organization should be ashamed of themselves because they’re like the public relations agency for China,” he added.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was “enormous evidence” backing claims that the COVID-19 virus spread from a Chinese laboratory.
Last week, it was reported that Trump was assessing different retaliatory measures against China in wake of its alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.