[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] A Chinese research team has once again claimed that the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, is not the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).
According to Xinhua News on the 26th, a Chinese research team led by Lu Hongzhou, director of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, asserted that "the COVID-19 virus had already been widely present among humans since the end of last year."
After a detailed analysis of 326 confirmed COVID-19 cases infected between January 20 and February 25, the research team stated, "The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan was not the initial origin, but the virus had spread in humans much earlier, and the large-scale outbreak eventually occurred there."
Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, also said, "The Huanan Seafood Market is one of the affected areas," adding, "In January, samples were directly collected from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, but no COVID-19 virus was detected in animal samples; the virus was only found in environmental samples, including wastewater from the sewage system."
He said, "The Chinese government and scientists are working on related efforts to clarify this," and "China will cooperate with the World Health Organization (WHO) and countries around the world regarding the origin of COVID-19."
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