Harvard University: "COVID-19 Originated in Wuhan in August Last Year"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] It has been claimed that the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) may have originated in Wuhan, China, as early as the end of August last year.

According to reports from the US CNN and the UK daily The Telegraph on the 8th (local time), researchers from Harvard Medical School in the US made this claim based on an analysis of satellite images of hospital parking lots in Wuhan and internet search volumes.

In a paper submitted to the international academic journal Nature Digital Medicine, the researchers stated that from August 2018, the number of vehicles parked at five hospitals in Wuhan began to noticeably increase compared to the previous year, peaking in December of that year. This paper has not yet undergone peer review.

For example, comparing satellite images of the Tongji Medical College parking lot in Wuhan taken in October 2018 and September 2019 shows a difference of 112 and 214 vehicles, respectively. The Tianyou (天佑) Hospital parking lot was also busier in October 2019 with 285 vehicles compared to 171 in October 2018.

Provided by ABC Broadcasting, USA

Professor John Brownstein, who led the study, noted that a busy hospital parking lot is an indicator of how busy the hospital was at the time, highlighting that the number of patients visiting hospitals in Wuhan increased from late summer to autumn last year.

There is further circumstantial evidence supporting the researchers' claim. At the time when the number of patients visiting Wuhan hospitals increased, searches for 'cold' and 'diarrhea,' known representative symptoms of COVID-19, surged on Baidu, China's largest search engine.

Professor Brownstein explained, "Many of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Wuhan exhibited diarrhea symptoms," adding, "The data showing an unprecedented increase in people searching for diarrhea on Baidu is noteworthy."

While it is difficult to definitively state that COVID-19 emerged in August last year based solely on satellite images of hospital parking lots and Baidu search volumes, the researchers analyzed that it suggests "something" was happening in Wuhan long before the COVID-19 pandemic.