US House votes to declassify info about origins of COVID-19

The US House of Representatives unanimously voted for declassification of intelligence about origins of COVID-19. The development has come nearly three years after the start of the deadly pandemic. US lawmakers voted 419 to 0 in favor of declassification. Since the Senate on the 1st of March passed the bill by unanimous consent, it now goes to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law or veto. Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Michael Turner said, the American public deserves answers to every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intelligence that would be declassified as a result of the legislation will also have information relating to potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the Corona Virus disease. If the legislation is signed into a law, it will require release within 90 days.

China was the first country to come into the clutches of coronavirus pandemic. The first cluster of infections was found in the city of Wuhan. The virus soon spread all over the globe bringing economies to standstill due to lockdowns that sometimes lasted for months. It is widely alleged that the coronavirus was a man-made virus and was developed in Chinese labs. China denies all such allegations. Passage of the legislation was indicative of a rare bipartisanship between Democrats and Republicans. Debate in the House was brief and to the point: Americans have questions about how the deadly virus started and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks.