The South China Morning Post is running an article that describes the unique quality of the COVID-19 virus in France. It seems the outbreak in France cannot be traced directly to China like the other incidences. The virus has been circulating in France since February and was detected in January, before any other European nation.

Initially, some patients who had traveled to Hubei had tested positive for the virus and the French quarantined them. The strain found during the actual outbreak in February was different however. Upon investigation the article says. “To the researchers’ surprise, some of the later strains collected were genetically older – or closer to the ancestral root – than the first sample in this clade.”

This is eerie to say the least. The scientists are trying to find a link to the Chinese COVID-19 strain and we will be waiting for the results.