WHO coronavirus report: Animal carrier 'very likely' started pandemic

Lab leak called 'extremely unlikely' as 14 nations express concern over China study

A cell, red, is infected with particles of the virus that causes COVID-19, yellow, in this image provided by the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

TOGO SHIRAISHI, CK TAN and SHIN WATANABE, Nikkei staff writers

March 30, 2021 23:58 JST

Updated on March 31, 2021 02:41 JST

PARIS/SHANGHAI/DALIAN, China -- The novel coronavirus that has killed around 2.8 million people worldwide most likely first spread to humans from animals, a World Health Organization report on the origins of the pandemic has found.