The US government does not have a final conclusion and consensus on the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday, as quoted by Reuters.

Kirby made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about Sunday’s media reports.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that the US Department of Energy had concluded that the pandemic likely originated from a leak from a Chinese laboratory, an assessment Beijing has denied.

The new conclusion from the Department of Energy, which was previously undecided about the origin of the virus, is contained in an updated 2021 document prepared by the office of the head of the US Secret Service, Avril Haynes.

The new report highlights that different sectors of the US intelligence community have come to different conclusions about the origins of the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal notes.

As such, the Department of Energy now joins the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in saying that the virus most likely spread through an incident at a Chinese lab. Four other agencies, along with a national intelligence group, still believe it is likely the result of natural transmission, and two agencies are undecided.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s conclusion is the result of new information and is significant, the Wall Street Journal noted, because the department has significant scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research.