COVID-19 cases spread in China before they were reported, claims new study

Beijing: Amid a renewed search to trace the origins of COVID-19, a new study suggests the first cases of coronavirus infection may have been reported in China between October and mid-November 2019 – from official records from the country first. According to a study cited by Deutsche Welle (DW), it could have been two months before the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in China.

The revelation comes after researchers from the UK’s University of Kent, using conservation science techniques, estimated that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from early October to mid-November 2019. The analysis, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, argues that the most likely date for the emergence of the virus that causes COVID-19 was November 17, 2019.

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China’s first official case was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan. The virus outbreak was linked to the city’s Huanan seafood market. However, many researchers have long argued that the infection was spreading between people even before they reached the market.

Earlier this week, a US-based think tank RAND said that the cases of coronavirus in China are likely to be 37 times higher than the cases reported by the country’s government in January 2020. Since the outbreak of a novel coronavirus, several government and non-government agencies around the world have accused China of ambiguity and hiding information about the virus.

RAND has published a report after examining the role of commercial air travel in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The think tank has said there is strong evidence to suggest that China’s alleged COVID-19 caseload was underestimated by a factor of about 40.

The think tank wrote, “Many have raised concerns about the accuracy of COVID-19 data from China. In this report, we present strong evidence that China’s reported COVID-19 caseload has been estimated to be around 40 percent.” factor was underestimated.”

“Based on officially reported cases in China in January 2020, the likelihood of the novel coronavirus appearing in Japan, Thailand, South Korea, the United States and Taiwan by January 22, 2020 – as it did – would have been minuscule. ,” it noted.

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