A UK biomedical science expert stated that the novel coronavirus is of natural origin, and did not come from a Wuhan laboratory.

"My view is very clear,  it's a zoonotic transfer from an animal reservoir, originally the bat, probably via some intermediates, it did not come from the Wuhan laboratory," Ian Jones, professor at the University of Reading, talked CGTN in an interview.

He denied the conspiracy which claims the novel coronavirus was engineered artificially, reiterating that the virus' genetic sequence has been determined. "If it is an engineered virus, it would have some marks, points, which show the engineering has been done. But that is not the case, the virus is typically an animal virus." 

Global spread as early as the end of last year

A new genetic analysis of COVID-19 taken from more than 7,600 patients around the world shows the virus has been circulating in people since late last year. 

Scientists in Britain analyzed samples taken at different times and from different places, found that the virus first started infecting people at the end of last year, and must have spread extremely quickly after the first infection.

"The virus is changing, but this in itself does not mean it's getting worse," Francois Balloux, lead researcher of the study at the University College London Genetics Institute told CNN.

"We are really, really, really confident that the host jump happened late last year, he stressed.

Their study was published in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution on Tuesday.