Coronavirus May Have Been In The United States Before 2020

ACROSS AMERICA — The coronavirus may have been in the United States before originally thought. New findings published in the "Clinical Infectious Diseases" journal say infections may have been present in the country in December 2019, according to an NPR report. The country's first positive case was reported in Washington state on Jan. 19.

"These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may have been introduced into the United States prior to Jan. 19, 2020," authors of the research wrote.

Coronavirus antibodies were found in 106 of 7,389 blood donations collected by the American Red Cross between Dec. 13, 2019 to Jan. 17, 2020 in nine states: California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin, analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

Thirty-nine positive samples came from California, Oregon and Washington in the Dec. 13 to Dec. 16 time frame, according to NPR. Another 67 positive samples came from Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Wisconsin in early January before a single official coronavirus case was confirmed in the United States.

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