World Health Organization investigators are seeking information about a second food market in the Chinese city of Wuhan after the first officially confirmed Covid-19 case, dubbed patient zero, told them that their parents had shopped there.
Chinese authorities have said since the beginning of last year that the first confirmed victim was a resident of Wuhan, surnamed Chen, who fell ill on December 8, 2019 and had no connection to the seafood market in Huanan, which was linked to many of the first infections.
This case, and the latest evidence, led a WHO team investigating the origins of the pandemic to conclude that the virus may have first passed from an animal to a human before, and elsewhere, and spread to Wuhan at the time. that an outbreak in the Huanan market has occurred.
The alleged zero patient met with WHO researchers during his recent four-week visit to Wuhan and told them that his parents had visited another food market in the local community, according to three team members.
The revelation came at the end of the man’s meeting with WHO researchers and they were unable to identify the market or obtain further details, said team members. They declined to comment further.