A French hospital which has retested old samples from pneumonia patients has discovered that it treated Amirouche Hammar, a man who had COVID-19 as early as 27 December 2019, nearly a month before the French government confirmed its first cases.

An exclusive statement by Professor Yves Cohen affirms that a retest of a sample taken on 27 Dec 2020 from a pneumonia patient had COVID-19 infection.

An exclusive statement by Professor Yves Cohen affirms that a retest of a sample taken on 27 Dec 2020 from a pneumonia patient had COVID-19 infection.Professor Yves Cohen in an interview to BFM TV informed, for a study doctors at a hospital in Paris reviewed samples of 24 patients treated for atypical pneumonia between early December 2019 and January 2020. Among the 24 samples, one had been tested positive for COVID-19. Moreover, the statement by Amirouche Hammar who's sample diagnosed with COVID-19 said that he had not left France before falling sick.

The Reuters article states that the first case of COVID-19 in France was initially confirmed on 24 January 2020. The article also reported that Amirouche Hammar was called for an investigation to verify whether he is patient zero (first carrier COVID-19).

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