WHO report says animals likely source of COVID

The findings were largely as expected and left many questions unanswered. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis.

The report's release has been repeatedly delayed, raising questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew the conclusions to prevent blame for the coronavirus pandemic falling on China.

A World Health Organisation official said late last week that he expected it would be ready for release “in the next few days”.

The AP received what appeared to be a near-final version on Monday from a Geneva-based diplomat from a WHO-member country. It wasn't clear whether the report might still be changed prior to its release. The diplomat did not want to be identified because they were not authorised to release it ahead of publication.