Coronavirus may have surfaced in Los Angeles just before Christmas

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. Researchers said an increased number of patients with respiratory complaints starting in late December 2019 and continuing through February 2020 suggests SARS-CoV-2 community infections were present prior to official awareness of cases in the U.S. (iStock) The team of researchers analyzed more than 10 million UCLA Health System outpatient, emergency department and hospital facility records between Dec. 1, 2019, and Feb. 29, 2020 – months just before there was an awareness of the presence of the novel coronavirus in the United States. They discovered patients seeking treatment for coughs in the outpatient clinics "increased by over 50% and exceeded the average number of visits for the same complaint over the prior five years by more than 1,000," the study press release stated.