The coronavirus may have been in Los Angeles around Christmas, before the novel coronavirus was officially identified in the United States, according to researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Washington. The team of researchers discovered a spike in patients with acute respiratory failure and coughs at UCLA Health hospitals and clinics around late December 2019, when they analyzed health records, according to a press release from the university. The findings published in a report in the Journal of Medical Internet Research suggest that novel coronavirus may have been surfacing in the area months before the first case was officially identified. The study authors also said their analysis demonstrated the significance of monitoring electronic health records (EHR) to identify population changes. “We may never truly know if these excess patients represented early and undetected COVID-19 cases in our area,” Elmore said.

Source: Fox News September 10, 2020 20:26 UTC