WHO Investigators Say CCP Virus Was ‘Circulating Widely’ in Wuhan by Late 2019

Workers wearing protective gear are seen in the compounds of The Jade Boutique Hotel, where members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic are due to complete their quarantine, in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 28, 2021. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

An investigator with the World Health Organization (WHO) said the CCP virus was “circulating widely” in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.

Lead WHO investigator Peter Ben Embarek told CNN that his team found signs of a wider outbreak in the Hubei Province city in late 2019, noting that there were at least 13 strains of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, or the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, around Wuhan by late 2019.