According to Reuters a genetic study of samples from over 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggest that it started to spread globally in late 2019.
A study by University College London’s (UCL) Genetics Institute found nearly 200 recurrent genetic mutations of the new coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2, which shows how the virus may be evolving as it spreads.
Francois Balloux, a UCL professor who co-led the research said that all viruses mutate and there's no proof whether or not COVID-19 is getting more or less contagious.
He explains, “All viruses naturally mutate.
Mutations in themselves are not a bad thing and there is nothing to suggest SARS-CoV-2 is mutating faster or slower than expected.” Studies also show that the virus was already being quickly transmitted, extensively around the world from late 2019, when COVID-19 jumped from a previous animal host into people.
Earlier this week, French scientists said a French man was infected with COVID-19 as early as Dec.
27, almost a month before France confirmed its first cases.
Balloux adds, “If we focus our efforts on parts of the virus that are less likely to mutate, we have a better chance of developing drugs that will be effective in the long run."