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New study suggests Covid-19 presence in France in November 2019
A study on serum samples of over 9,000 French adults has suggested that the novel coronavirus might have been present in the country as early as November 2019, as some sampled between that month and January 2020 tested positive for antibodies against the virus.
The research, led by Fabrice Carrat, director of the Paris-based Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health, was published in the European Journal of Epidemiology on February 6, reports Xinhua news agency.
All 9,144 serum samples were collected between November 4, 2019, and March 16, 2020, from participants living in the 12 mainland French regions. Their average age is 55 and 51 per cent of them are female, said the report.