Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee have released a significant addendum to their September 2020 Origin of COVID-19 report. In it, they fully dismiss the claims of the virus’s origin in a wet market because “the preponderance of evidence suggests SARS-CoV-2 was accidentally released from a Wuhan Institute of Virology [WIV] laboratory.”

“As we continue to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, I believe it’s time to completely dismiss the wet market as the source of the outbreak,” explained Republican ranking committee member Michael McCaul (R-TX). “Instead, as this report lays out, a preponderance of the evidence proves that all roads lead to the WIV.”

Several factors are highlighted in the report — not the least of which is the fact that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had been expressly engaged in gain-of-function coronavirus research. “We know gain-of-function research was happening at the WIV and we know it was being done in unsafe conditions,” McCaul said. “We also now know the head of the Chinese CDC and the director of the WIV’s BSL-4 lab publicly expressed concerns about safety at PRC labs in the summer of 2019.” The report also notes that the lab leak likely occurred in “late August or early September of 2019.”

The first COVID super-spreader incident likely occurred in November 2019 in Wuhan at the World Military Games. After returning to their home countries, several athletes reported getting sick with COVID-like symptoms. Furthermore, in December 2019, Chinese media reported accounts of a “viral pneumonia” in Wuhan.

However, it is the actions taken by the Chinese Communist Party early on that may be the most damning evidence pointing to an attempt to cover up a leak from the WIV.

First, safety issues: There were several voiced concerns over lax safety protocols at the WIV, “including from the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the WIV’s BSL-4 lab.” There were also requests for maintenance on the WIV lab that was only two years old, including specifically on the “environmental air disinfection system” and the “hazardous waste treatment system.”

Second, hiding the evidence: After the likely leak, the CCP took the WIV’s virus database offline suddenly in the middle of the night with no explanation, while also requesting $1 million in addition security.

Third, the type of research: The report argues that what has been publicly reported to the American people — that it is impossible to modify a virus without leaving a trace — is not accurate. In fact, such technology existed for over 14 years before the pandemic. Furthermore, “Researchers at the WIV were also able to successfully modify coronaviruses without leaving a trace as early as 2016.” Therefore, the notion that the only possible origin for COVID is purely natural is dubious.

Along with releasing their report, Republicans are calling for researchers involved with the Wuhan lab to be sanctioned and for Peter Daszak, whose New York-based organization EcoHealth Alliance funneled some $3.4 million in National Institutes of Health grants to the Wuhan lab, to appear before Congress for questioning. “I believe that Peter Daszak needs to testify before Congress about what was going on,” contends McCaul. He also stated, “They were playing with fire.”

Indeed, a lot of people were playing with fire, and the entire world got burned. There have been 4.2 million deaths recorded worldwide, including more than 613,000 in the U.S. China still claims just 4,636 deaths, though it’s surely at least 100 times that high. Holding Beijing accountable begins with acknowledging COVID’s true origins.