The first known Covid-19 case was a market vendor in the Chinese city of Wuhan, not an accountant who appeared to have no link to the market but whose case contributed to speculation the virus could have leaked from a lab, according to a U.S. study.
A joint study by China and the World Health Organization (WHO) this year all but ruled out the theory that Covid-19 originated in a laboratory, saying that the most likely hypothesis was that it infected humans naturally, probably via the wildlife trade.
The accountant, who was widely thought to be the first person with COVID-19, reported that his first symptoms appeared on Dec. 16, several days later than initially known, Michael Worobey, head of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, said in the study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
The confusion was caused by a dental problem he had on Dec. 8.
“His symptom onset came after multiple cases in workers at Huanan Market, making a female seafood vendor there the earliest known case, with illness onset 11 December,” the study said.
You wouldn’t believe the social media fight this article has caused. Some real wackadoos are coming out of the woodwork. Take care out there.