Study Finds Human-to-Human Transmission Occurred in Early Stages of Coronavirus Outbreak

People wearing face masks look for products at a pharmacy as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Beijing, China Jan. 30, 2020. Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus was occurring from mid-December 2019 in Wuhan, China, according to the largest study to-date analyzing patients infected with the deadly virus.

A new paper, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan. 29, examined data from the first 425 confirmed cases in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, and found that “there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019.”