French hospital says first suspected Covid-19 cases in Nov earlier than official record in country

PARIS: The first suspected cases of Covod-19 (coronavirus) infection in France could date back to Nov 16 last year, some nine weeks earlier than the official record of the country's first confirmed cases, a hospital in eastern France said during the weekend.

"Doctor Michel Schmitt, head of the medical imaging department at the Albert Schweitzer hospital in Colmar, has reviewed 2,456 chest scans performed between Nov. 1 and April 30, for all reasons (cardiac, pulmonary, traumatic, tumor pathologies)," said the hospital in a press release.