Study: Most coronavirus cases entered U.S. from Europe
NEW YORK - We have heard a lot about the coronavirus originating in China, but two separate, unrelated studies, one from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the NYC Grossman School of Medicine, indicate that most U.S. cases came from Europe, and that it had arrived in America far before we knew of it.
“This has shown us essentially that the viruses that are circulating here are very similar to viruses that have been identified in cases in Europe,” said Dr. Harm Van Bakel of the Icahn School of Medicine.
Dr. Van Bakel says the evidence shows that the New York outbreak likely did not come from people arriving from Asia, but instead from travelers arriving in New York City from various European cities.
“The origin of the pandemic is China, but from there it spread across the world and the route that it took to come into New York went through Europe,” Dr. Van Bakel said.
Another finding from the research is that the coronavirus was circulating and infecting people in New York City as early as late January.
Doctors say the research is still preliminary, but that it’s pointing them to greater knowledge about the pandemic.