First Covid-19 case happened on nov 17, China government records show - report

Earliest case detected on 17 November, weeks before authorities acknowledged new virus, says Chinese media

The first case of someone suffering from Covid-19 can be traced back to 17 November, according to media reports on unpublished Chinese government data.

The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance, and the earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus. The Chinese government was widely criticised over attempts to cover up the outbreak in the early weeks, including crackdowns on doctors who tried to warn colleagues about a new Sars-like virus which was emerging in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province. Coronavirus: Wuhan doctor speaks out against authorities

The data obtained by the Post, which the Guardian has not been able to verify, said a 55-year-old from Hubei province could have been the first person to contract Covid-19. For about one month after that date there were one to five new cases reported each day, the report said, and by 20 December there were 60 confirmed cases. Official statements by the Chinese government to the World Health Organisation reported that the first confirmed case had been diagnosed on 8 December. Doctors who tried to raise the alarm with colleagues about a new disease in late December were reprimanded.

Authorities did not publicly concede there was human-to-human transmission until 21 January.

It’s widely accepted, including by the head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention that the virus originated in Hubei. However in recent weeks Chinese officials have started suggesting or outright claiming that the virus did not originate in China, but perhaps in the US, a conspiracy theory that is gaining traction.

On Thursday, Zhao Lijian, a foreign ministry spokesman, suggested without evidence that the US army may have brought it into China.