Claims that coronavirus came from a wild animal market have been challenged by a new study, it is reported. China has always insisted that the outbreak began in a so-called wet market in Wuhan, where live animals were being sold.
But analysis of data by an expert scientist points to the virus having been taken into the market by someone already carrying the disease, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Alina Chan, a molecular biologist, and Shing Zhan, an evolutionary biologist told them: "The publicly available genetic data does not point to cross-species transmission of the virus at the market." Health authorities in Beijing believe the virus came from an animal in Huanan market, Wuhan.