Mediacom world news portal
Though Chinese authorities did not announce the existence of the novel coronavirus until December 27 of last year, the first known case of a person infected with the new virus that has since become a global pandemic appeared on November 17 — nearly six weeks earlier. The revelation comes from Chinese government documents revealed in a report by The South China Morning Post, an English-language newspaper based in Hong Kong.
According to the report, China has now identified 266 cases of coronavirus that appeared before the end of 2019. But citing “whistle-blowers from the medical community,” The Morning Post reports that it took until late December for Chinese medical authorities to understand that a new virus was on the loose.
China has come under heavy criticism for alleged attempts to cover up the existence of the newly discovered viral outbreak, which has to date infected about 81,000 people in China, and nearly 129,000 worldwide, according to a report by The Guardian newspaper.