Scientists have no evidence that the novel coronavirus was in Wuhan until December 2019, when an outbreak was recorded there, Liang Wannian, Vice-Rector of the Institute of Public Health and Valeology of Tsinghua University and Vanke Co., said at a special briefing on the results of the study held by the World Health Organization (WHO) mission in Wuhan, Report informs referring to TASS.
"We have conducted a study of pneumonia cases in Wuhan and Hubei province. There is no evidence that the virus spread in Wuhan before December 2019," Liang Wannian said.
Experts don’t have sufficient data to establish how the novel coronavirus entered the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, where it was first detected, Wannian noted.
"Based on the available information, it is impossible to tell how the virus entered the market," he said.
Scientists haven’t yet discovered in the wild the coronavirus, which is the direct predecessor of the SARS-CoV-2 strain that caused the pandemic, despite the similarity of the forms identified in bats and pangolins, Wannian added.
"Coronaviruses found in bats and pangolins are believed to be closely related to the novel coronavirus. Some specialists indicate that these animals may be a carrier of the novel coronavirus. But so far, this correlation isn’t enough to claim that viruses carried by the two animals are the direct ancestors of the novel coronavirus," he said.