In Bordeaux, Laurent Chu was the first Covid patient in Europe

It is, officially, the first Covid patient in Europe.

The Bordeaux native of Chinese origin Laurent Chu, 49, sales advisor in the wine world, was hospitalized on January 23, 2020 at the Bordeaux University Hospital, while returning from Wuhan, the focus of the epidemic in China, in the part of his work.

His Covid was officially declared the next day, January 24.

A year later, he tells how he "trembled" from his isolation room, seeing "the panic of the world".

"I didn't infect anyone," he insists.

I was the first patient, yes, but I did not infect anyone, "he said in an interview with the daily Sud Ouest on Friday.

Transferred to the Bordeaux University Hospital, in the infectious diseases department of infectious disease specialist Denis Malvy, Laurent Chu found himself 25 days in an isolation room, in intensive care, once the Covid was confirmed.

"We did not know the disease at that time, explains Professor Denis Malvy at 20 Minutes, we did not have information on the level of contagiousness, so we treated the very first patients in negative pressure rooms.

This is why we placed him in a sheave, with maximum precautions, since we dressed as if it were an Ebola, whereas from February this type of patient was taken care of on an outpatient basis... "

"They didn't know how to treat me," recalls "patient zero".