California investigates pandemic beginnings

The coronavirus likely began spreading in California as early as January, state and national health officials reported on Wednesday. A person with the virus died on Feb. 6 and another on Feb. 17, weeks before the first official recorded U.S. death from COVID-19 in Kirkland, Wash., according to autopsy tissue analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Sara Cody, the health director for Santa Clara County, said the news “indicates that the virus was probably introduced and circulating in our community far earlier than we had known.” Physicians likely misdiagnosed the cases as the flu.

How are California authorities responding? The latest report helps health officials track how the outbreak spread in the United States. California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed coroners throughout the state to look into deaths as far back as December to confirm when the pandemic began.

Dig deeper: Read Charissa Koh’s report in Compassion on the threat of the coronavirus in immigrant detention centers.