The World Health Organization is urging countries to investigate early suspicious cases of the coronavirus in their countries.
The new guidance follows details from a report that said COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, had entered France in December, sooner than officials had previously thought.
“This gives a whole new picture on everything,” said WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier during a Tuesday briefing and explained that retesting samples could discover earlier cases.
China first reported cases of COVID-19 to the United Nations-backed agency on Dec. 31, and it was previously believed that coronavirus did not reach Europe until January.
China’s reporting has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks with countries claiming Beijing intentionally withheld information in an effort to stock up on medical supplies. China has repeatedly rejected such conclusions.
The latest report out of France found that the first case of COVID-19 in the country could have been treated as early as Dec. 27.
While Mr. Lindmeier said these findings are “not surprising,” he explained they “help to better understand the potential virus circulation of COVID-19.”
France has reported 169,583 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 25,204 deaths and 51,476 recoveries. France has a population of 66.9 million.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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