In Depth: How early coronavirus signs were spotted and throttled

Labs identified SARS-like virus weeks before official announcements

20200302 COVID-19 a model

China's National Health Commission ordered institutions on Jan. 3 not to publish information related to the disease. © NEXU Science Communication/ Reuters

GAO YU, PENG YANFENG, YANG RUI, FENG YUDING, MA DANMENG, FLYNN MURPHY, HAN WEI, TIMMY SHEN, Caixin

The new coronavirus that has claimed nearly 3,000 lives and spread to almost 50 countries was sequenced in Chinese labs -- and found to be similar to SARS -- weeks before officials publicly identified it as the cause of a mysterious viral pneumonia cluster in Wuhan, a Caixin investigation has found.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.