The intelligence agency says it has a “low confidence” in its new finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of a virus that killed millions worldwide.

The CIA now believes the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic most likely originated from a laboratory, according to an assessment released Saturday that points the finger at China even while acknowledging that the spy agency has "low confidence" in its own conclusion.

It was unclear the extent to which the agency has collected new intelligence on COVID-19's origins and whether that new evidence was used to formulate the latest assessment.