--- title: "The First Known COVID Patient Was Identified Exactly One Year Ago" description: "It's been exactly a year since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in China, according to a March report by the South China Morning Post." date: "2020-11-17" modified: "2020-11-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/the-first-known-covid-patient-one-year-ago" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "china" - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "Pandemic" --- # The First Known COVID Patient Was Identified Exactly One Year Ago ![It's been exactly a year since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in China, according to a March report by the South China Morning Post.]() *\Image: Mohammad Mohsenifar\* It's been exactly a year since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in China, according to a [March report]() by the *South China Morning Post*. According to government data obtained by the newspaper, the first patient was likely a 55-year-old from Hubei province, identified by officials on November 17, 2019 — a stark illustration of how quickly the novel virus has spread to nearly every populated area on Earth. It was weeks, though, before Chinese authorities officially acknowledged the first infection, as [*Newsweek* reports](). Finding the first person to be infected, or "patient zero," could allow researchers to trace the virus back to its source. So far, our best guess is that the virus spread from [bats to humans](). Whether the patient found a year ago was actually patient zero is unknown and likely unknowable, though. Identifying patient zero may have worked in the 2011 thriller "Contagion," but in real life it's not that straightforward — especially because many COVID patients can spread the virus while experiencing mild symptoms or none at all. "It sounds good in the movies to go back and find the person who was first exposed to the bat, but the chance of ever finding that in reality is almost zero," Edward Holmes, leading virologist at the University of Sydney, [told *ABC Australia*]() in a story marking the same 12-month anniversary. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()