A retrospective study published in The Lancet on Jan 24, 2020 revealed that the earliest laboratory confirmed case of CoVid-19 was a man whose symptoms began Dec 1, 2019 and that he had not been on Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.

No epidemiological link was found between him and the others in the first confirmed cluster of the 41 cases. Their data also shows that a total of 13 of the 41 cases had no connection to the market. “That’s a big number, 13 without a link,” says Daniel Lucey.