If the virus started in nature and then was taken to a lab for study it wasn’t entirely removed from nature. It was still out there spreading around. Is it possible that they had brought it to the lab then had an accident and people in the public contracted it as a result? Sure. But if it was already infecting people all that would do is move the current situation a few months earlier since the virus was already out there infecting people.
Hand wringing about this is just a foolish waste of time and serves no purpose other then to try and deflect from questions that actually matter.