All evidence has indicated that the coronavirus likely originated in bats and was not manipulated or constructed in a lab, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib refuted recent comments that the virus emanated from a lab in Wuhan, central China, saying the available evidence showed that the virus was not manipulated by humans in a lab or somewhere else.

"It's probable, likely, that the virus is of animal origin," she said, adding that it was not clear how the virus spread to humans.