World Health Organization's study on the origins of COVID-19 says transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal was the most likely scenario and that a lab leak was “extremely unlikely”. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab-leak hypothesis.
The closest relative of the virus that causes COVID-19 has been found in bats, which are known to carry corona viruses. However, the report says that “the evolutionary distance between these bat viruses and SARS-CoV-2 is estimated to be several decades, suggesting a missing link.”