The WHO does not rule out that the COVID virus originated from a laboratory leak.

The hypothesis that the COVID-19 virus originated from a laboratory leak remains undisclosed, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday, as the report of the group of experts studying the origins of the pandemic was published.

"All four hypotheses remain on the table, including zoonotic transmission (from animals to humans) or a laboratory leak," Tedros said at a press conference, reiterating that China, but also other countries, have not provided the WHO and investigators with sufficient information to complete the investigation.

"We continue to call on China and any other country with information about the origins of COVID-19 to share it, in order to defend the world against future epidemics," the WHO chief stressed.

Since 2020, COVID-19, or coronavirus, has been present in society around the world, causing thousands of deaths and classifying it as a highly infectious disease.

The World Health Organization has identified the NB.1.8.1 variant, known as the Nimbus variant, which has spread widely in recent days in China and other Asian countries. According to CNN en Español, experts say a significant increase in cases could occur in the region and even in Europe and the Americas during the summer.

International media outlets such as DW report that this new variant has been detected in South and Southeast Asia, as well as some countries in Europe and Latin America.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Nimbus variant causes symptoms similar to the Omicron variants, such as fever, fatigue, muscle pain, cough, nasal congestion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Furthermore, it indicates that the Nimbus virus can cause a lacerating pain in the throat, which is not unique to COVID-19 and could be confused with other conditions, generating a wave of infections.

Furthermore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported that by June 7, the NB.1.8.1 variant already accounted for approximately one-third of new COVID cases in Asia.

CNN wellness expert Leana Wen, an emergency physician and associate clinical professor at George Washington University, explained in her column that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is constantly mutating, and new variants are entirely expected to emerge.

“The more opportunities the virus has to spread, the more opportunities it has to mutate,” he added.

WITH LATEST NEWS INFORMATION