SEE ALSO: South Africa confirms first case of coronavirusThat suggests SARS-CoV-2 was being transmitted extensively around the world from early on in the epidemic, he said. Cases have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since they were first identified in China in December 2019. The World Health Organization said the French case was “not surprising” and urged countries to investigate any other early suspicious cases. Balloux’s team screened the genomes of more than 7,500 viruses from infected patients around the world. Their results add to a growing body of evidence that SARS-CoV-2 viruses share a common ancestor from late 2019, suggesting this was when the virus jumped from a previous animal host into people.

Source: Standard Digital May 06, 2020 18:00 UTC