Italian Pharmaceutical Research Director: "Severe Pneumonia Outbreak in Northern Italy Last November"

"COVID-19 May Have Spread in Italy Before Outbreak in China"
Italy's Total Deaths Reach 5,476... Surpassing China
US-China Conflict Over COVID-19 Origin

Medical staff are treating severe COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit at a hospital in Bergamo, Lombardy, northern Italy, where a concentrated outbreak of novel coronavirus infections occurred, on the 17th (local time). / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Juhyung Lim] Amid ongoing conflicts between the United States and China over the origin of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), claims have emerged that COVID-19 may have first appeared in northern Italy before Wuhan (武漢), China.

Earlier, Giuseppe Remuzzi, director of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Italy, stated in an interview with the U.S. public radio station NPR on the 19th (local time), "Doctors remember that in December last year, and even November, there were very strange and severe cases of pneumonia mainly among the elderly," adding, "This means that the virus was already spreading in Lombardy (in northern Italy) before we knew about the epidemic in China."

He continued, "Only recently did doctors start talking about this disease (COVID-19)," and added, "This suggests that the virus may have been spreading without people knowing."

According to Italian health authorities on the 22nd, the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in Italy was recorded at 5,476 as of that day, an increase of 13.5% (651 deaths) compared to the previous day. Italy's cumulative death toll from COVID-19 has continued to rise since surpassing China (then 3,261 deaths), the suspected origin of the virus, on the 20th.

The cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 59,138, rising to 73% of China's total (81,054 cases).

On the 20th (local time), citizens stood at intervals in front of a supermarket in Milan, Italy, waiting to enter as part of 'social distancing' measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection. / Photo by Yonhap News

The first COVID-19 patient is known to have appeared in Wuhan, China, on December 1 of last year. The Lombardy regional infections are presumed to have spread from Italians who had contact with Chinese individuals in January.

However, some argue that Wuhan may not be the starting point of the COVID-19 spread in Italy. On the 23rd, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post introduced Remuzzi's interview and analyzed, "If it is proven that COVID-19 originated in the Lombardy region, such claims will lose their strength."

Meanwhile, conflicts between the United States and China over the origin of COVID-19 continue.

Earlier, on the 12th, Zhao Lijian (趙立堅), spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sparked controversy by claiming on his Twitter account that "the U.S. military may have brought COVID-19 to Wuhan."

U.S. President Donald Trump, at a press conference held on the 19th, referred to COVID-19 as the "Chinese Virus," criticizing, "It is clear that the whole world is paying the price for what China has done."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.