But the earliest cases may not be related to exposure at the market. That's what a team of
Chinese researchers reported January 24 in The Lancet. The earliest known patient got sick on
December 1. He had not been exposed to the market, according to the study, although the first
person who died had been.
Why did the author include this idea?
to introduce uncertainty about the origin of the coronavirus
to explain how many people have been infected by the coronavirus
to stress the danger that the coronavirus poses to humans
to describe how people can protect themselves from the coronavirus