A worker wearing a hazmat suit is seen at a residential community in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of China's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, March 28, 2020.
A shrimp vendor at the Wuhan market where the coronavirus most likely emerged was identified as one of the first people who contacted the virus. Speculations also suggest that the peddler may be the patient zero of the pandemic.
Wei Guixian, 57 years old and a vendor at the Huanan market in Wuhan was identified by the Wall Street Journal as the first person to test positive for the virus, which has not spread worldwide, in the said market.
Spread and development of the virus
On December 10, Wei was at work and that was when she first developed the symptoms, which she initially thought was just the common cold. Thus, she walked in for a check-up at a local clinic, then returned back to the market, most likely spreading the contagion.
According to her statement to The Paper, Wei said that she only felt a bit tired and only regarded it as a flu since she usually catches the bug every winter. However, after she did not get better, she went to a local clinic the following day where she received an injection. This also did not improve her condition, thus she decided to go to the Eleventh Hospital in Wuhan.
Furthermore, Wei narrated that the doctor at the said hospital did not figure out what her illness was and gave her pills instead. However, like the injection, the pills did not work too. Around that time, Wei was starting to feel worse and uncomfortable, she also felt her energy draining.
On the December 16, Wei went to a different hospital, Wuhan Union Hospital, one of the Wuhan's biggest hospitals to get another check-up.
Unlike the doctor in the first hospital, the doctor in WUH seemed to know what ails her. The doctor said that there were several patients from the market who already came in exhibiting the same symptoms of an illness which the doctor referred to as "ruthless."
Read Also: Trump Says New York Area Quarantine Unnecessary as COVID-19 Deaths in US Reaches 2,000
After the doctors have already linked the emerging virus to the seafood market, Wei, along with the others was quarantined by the end of December.
On the December 31, Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announced that Wei is one of the first 27 people to test positive for the novel coronavirus, she is also one of the 24 people who were linked directly to the market.
Wei has now recovered from the disease and one of those who have already left the hospital in January. Wei also disclosed that she believes that she contracted the virus in the toilet of the market which was shared among the sellers and peddlers.
However, up to this moment, it is still not conclusive is she is the pandemics "patient zero." The possibility that there was another person in the market that was first infected and passed on the infection to Wei and the others is still there.
As of the moment, investigators are still looking for "patient zero," who could be the key to solving questions about the pandemic, including how it infected humans and where the virus came from.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the world has now reached 650,000 , and the new epicenter of the outbreak is now the United States which has reported more than 100,000 cases.
Related article: COVID-19 Patient Zero Might Be Discovered Soon
