#France's first #Covid19 case 'dates back to December', #flu retest shows #pneumonia #coronavirus[_link]

— RFI English (@RFI_En) May 4, 2020

Dr Yves Cohen, head of the emergency services ward at the Avicenne and Jean-Verdier hospitals near Paris, says he went back through the files of patients who had been admitted with flu symptoms in December 2019 and January 2020.

"Out of 14 patients, one tested positive. We tested it two more times to make sure there was no mistake. And twice, it came back positive."

Nasal swab tests, or Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAAT), using a long cotton bud inserted into the nose, can detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the Covid-19 disease.

...
According to Cohen, his file showed a scanner which revealed "signs that were totally connected to Covid-19", including signs of inflammation consistent with the virus when he was hospitalised in December at Jean-Verdier Hospital in Bondy, north of Paris.

Contacted later by Cohen's staff, the patient explained that he had not travelled to any infected areas. He had been sick for two weeks and had infected his two children - but not his wife.