U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday renewed his contested claim that there is "significant evidence" the novel coronavirus originated in a laboratory in the Chinese city of Wuhan, although the U.S. "doesn't have certainty."

According to Reuters and other media, Pompeo made the remarks during a press briefing at the State Department, adding U.S. intelligence authorities are still working to figure out the origin of the virus.

Pompeo also blamed China for not sharing information about COVID-19, saying it could have prevented the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

The remarks came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that Pompeo cannot present any evidence as he doesn't have any.  

On Sunday, Pompeo appeared on ABC and said there was “enormous evidence” the virus emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.