A new report claims that the first case of the deadly COVID-19 disease in China has been traced back to November 19.
Beijing: After more than 4,700 deaths and 128,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus worldwide, it is now learnt that the first case of the COVID-19 disease may have first come to light as early as November last year.
Researchers say the date when the first case was detected has been found to be November 17, as per South China Morning Post.
Chinese authorities have also identified as many as 266 cases of infection in 2019 fag-end who were subjected to medical scrutiny at some point.
Some of the cases tested were “backdated” after health officials tested patients. The Hong Kong-based publication also cited interviews with “whistle-blowers” from the medical community who stated that Chinese doctors came to know that they were dealing with a new disease sometime in December 2019.
Scientists have been trying to trace the origin of the disease which first spread in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province before it became a global pandemic.
The data seen by SCMP indicates that a 55-year-old from Hubei province could have been the patient zero or the first victim of the deadly virus.
COVID-19: Global pandemic
As per the World Health Organisation (WHO) which declared the outbreak – a pandemic – earlier this week, the first case of the disease was found in China on December 8. The international health and disease watchdog does not track the disease itself but relies on nations for such information.