President-elect Joe Biden is in no way related to the origin of the Coronavirus. The first case of infection was reported from Wuhan, China.
This was followed by a string of cases in the Huanan Seafood Market. Many of the initial victims of the virus were stall owners, market employees, or regular visitors to this market, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. Environmental samples taken from the market in Dec. 2019 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, further suggesting that the market in Wuhan City was the source of this outbreak or played a role in the outbreak's initial amplification. The market was later closed on Jan. 1, 2020, and was disinfected. The virus could have been introduced into the human population from an animal source in the market, or an infected human could have introduced the virus to the market, and the virus may have then been amplified in the market environment, according to WHO.
WHO emergency expert Dr. Mike Ryan told the media that his organization had assurances from China that an international field trip to investigate the Coronavirus's origins will be arranged as soon as possible. Ryan also reiterated the position that the Wuhan market, where the virus is reported to have originated, is "likely to have been a point of amplification" of virus transmission, but whether that was by a human, animal, or environmental spread is not yet known, the report quoted him saying.
However, he did add that it would be “highly speculative” to argue that the disease did not emerge in China. “It is clear from a public health perspective that you start your investigations where the human cases first emerged.”
Prof Jonathan Stoye, a virologist at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said that “What appears certain is that the first recorded cases of the disease were in China and it thus remains most likely that the virus originated in China.”
According to a Reuters report published on June 10, a study published by Harvard Medical School on June 9 used satellite imagery of Wuhan parking lots to show an increase in hospital visits by the locals beginning as early as Aug. 2019, which was four months before the outbreak officially began. It also identified a surge in search-engine queries for “cough” and “diarrhea” in August. However, the authors of the study said that they were still investigating the data's viability and conceded that there could be alternative explanations for the increases.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.
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