Where Did COVID-19 Originate? ... First Confirmed Patient Says "Did Not Visit Seafood Market"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] Amid the unclear conclusion about the origin of COVID-19, it has been confirmed that the first COVID-19 patient in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, did not visit the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, which is known as the outbreak source.

According to Chinese media such as Xinhua News on the 27th, Wuhan health authorities stated about the first COVID-19 patient, "The first patient is Mr. Chen, a resident of Wuhan who developed symptoms on December 8, 2019," and "He is currently receiving treatment and has recovered and been discharged." The health authorities also clarified, "Mr. Chen did not visit the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan before the onset of symptoms."

Although scientific research papers have been published indicating that some early COVID-19 patients did not visit the Huanan Seafood Market, this is the first time Chinese health authorities have officially confirmed it. So far, the Huanan Seafood Market has been known as the likely origin of COVID-19, with a high possibility that the virus, originating from bats and other sources, was transmitted to humans via wild animals sold at the seafood market. However, the academic community still keeps multiple possibilities open regarding the origin of COVID-19 and has not reached a definitive conclusion.

In late January, the international medical journal The Lancet also published findings that among 41 patients who showed COVID-19 symptoms in December last year, only 27 had visited the Huanan Seafood Market, while the remaining 14 had no connection to the market. Professor Xiao Botao of the School of Biological Science and Engineering at Huanan University of Technology in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, claimed earlier this month that the Huanan Seafood Market was not the origin of COVID-19, arguing that the virus leaked from the Wuhan Center for Disease Control near the market.

Meanwhile, Zhong Nanshan, a top authority on respiratory diseases in China and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, made a statement suggesting that the origin of COVID-19 may not be China. At a press conference that day, he said, "(COVID-19) was first discovered in China, so it was considered to have started there, but looking at the current COVID-19 situation abroad, we cannot say unconditionally that it started in China."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.