6 May 2020 (Brussels, BE) – France’s first known coronavirus case may have occurred a month earlier than previously known, according to new research. Scientists now believe the country’s first Covid-19 patient could have been infected in mid-December. [NPR / Laurel Wamsley]
Some other sources and points:
• The discovery was made by retroactively testing samples from people sick with undiagnosed respiratory illnesses late last year. It throws the timeline for France’s coronavirus outbreak into question — previously, the first case in the country was thought to be directly linked to travel from Wuhan, China, in late January. [Bloomberg / Marthe Fourcade]
• It’s still unclear how the suspected patient, a 43-year-old man who hadn’t traveled to China before coming down with Covid-19, came into contact with the coronavirus. [BBC]
• A case in December could explain why parts of Europe suffered such severe outbreaks of the virus. If the new sample is accurate, the coronavirus may have had months to spread largely unchecked before France implemented a lockdown in March. [NYT / Adam Nossiter and Aurelien Breeden]