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Satellite images and online searches indicate China had coronavirus in the fall, Harvard study finds
cnbc.com ^ | 6/9/2020 | CHLOE TAYLOR

Posted on 06/09/2020 2:45:39 PM PDT by bitt

Covid-19 may have been circulating in China as early as August 2019, a new study from Harvard Medical School (HMS) claims.

The virus, which is widely believed to have originated in a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, was first reported to the WHO in late December.

However, an analysis of hospital traffic and search engine data in Wuhan indicates that there was early disease activity in the fall of 2019, according to HMS researchers.

In a study published on Monday on Harvard University's DASH server, analysts used satellite images of parking lots at six hospitals in Wuhan to calculate vehicle counts and estimate hospital occupancy trends. The vehicle numbers were compared to trends seen during other flu-like illness outbreaks.

The research paper — which is not yet peer reviewed — also analyzed data from Chinese search engine Baidu to determine changes in searches for the terms "cough" and "diarrhea" between April 2017 and May 2020.

It found that between 2018 and 2020 there was a general upward trend in hospital occupancy — but there was a steep increase in occupancies from August 2019, which culminated with a peak in December 2019.

Five of the six hospitals included in the analysis showed their highest daily occupancies between September and October 2019, researchers found, which coincided with elevated levels of Baidu search queries for the terms "diarrhea" and "cough."

Search volumes for both terms rose dramatically in the city around three weeks before its spike of confirmed Covid-19 cases in early 2020, the study said.

"Increased hospital traffic and symptom search data in Wuhan preceded the documented start of the pandemic in December 2019," the study's authors said. "While we cannot confirm if the increased volume was directly related to the new virus, our evidence supports other recent work

(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: 201908; china; covid19

1 posted on 06/09/2020 2:45:39 PM PDT by bitt
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To: Whenifhow; null and void; aragorn; EnigmaticAnomaly; kalee; Kale; AZ .44 MAG; Baynative; bgill; ...

P


2 posted on 06/09/2020 2:45:53 PM PDT by bitt (I shall not kneel for any person. Nor do I expect anybody to kneel for me.)
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To: bitt

Late july release.
It was already worldwide within two months.


3 posted on 06/09/2020 2:50:17 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: bitt

which is widely believed to have originated in a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan,

oh please.


4 posted on 06/09/2020 2:52:10 PM PDT by A_Former_Democrat (See St George's Rap Sheet . . . TAG PedoJoe with "DEFUND the POLICE")
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To: bitt

And the Demsheviks knew, of course. And maybe more than just “knew”.


5 posted on 06/09/2020 2:53:47 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.)
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To: bitt

Bookmark.


6 posted on 06/09/2020 3:03:49 PM PDT by cba123 ( Toi la nguoi My. Toi bay gio o Viet Nam.)
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To: bitt

Does anybody still believe that the Wuhan Flu started in that market?


7 posted on 06/09/2020 3:19:01 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: bitt

My wife and I exhibited symptoms of the Wuhan Flu while on a cruise in September 2019. We flew into Vancouver after a plane change in Seattle. Four days later, we were sick. BTW, lots of air travel between China and Vancouver passing through Seattle. I’m sure we didn’t catch the flu on the ship but on one of our flights.


8 posted on 06/09/2020 3:23:56 PM PDT by DugwayDuke
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To: bitt
...we cannot confirm if the increased volume was directly related to the new virus...

They're pulling out all the stops to defend China. aka They didn't know!

9 posted on 06/09/2020 3:27:54 PM PDT by Rightwing Conspiratr1
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To: bitt

The Wuhan Institute of Virology was in complete lockdown by Octover 4th. It must have taken them a few weeks to realize what had happened.


10 posted on 06/09/2020 3:45:52 PM PDT by Crucial
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To: bitt; All
And what do they have to say about the body count since they're looking at satellite images?

How did they separate a spike from covid hospital visits from the usual flu season? Sounds like they didn't. They are just throwing a theory out there.

11 posted on 06/09/2020 3:58:12 PM PDT by newzjunkey (Vote Giant Meteor in 2020)
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To: bitt
Link to the Harvard study: Analysis of hospital traffic and search engine data in Wuhan China indicates early disease activity in the Fall of 2019

Abstract: The global COVID-19 pandemic was originally linked to a zoonotic spillover event in Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Market in November or December of 2019. However, recent evidence suggests that the virus may have already been circulating at the time of the outbreak. Here we use previously validated data streams - satellite imagery of hospital parking lots and Baidu search queries of disease related terms - to investigate this possibility. We observe an upward trend in hospital traffic and search volume beginning in late Summer and early Fall 2019. While queries of the respiratory symptom “cough” show seasonal fluctuations coinciding with yearly influenza seasons, “diarrhea” is a more COVID-19 specific symptom and only shows an association with the current epidemic. The increase of both signals precede the documented start of the COVID-19 pandemic in December, highlighting the value of novel digital sources for surveillance of emerging pathogens.

12 posted on 06/09/2020 3:59:05 PM PDT by Fedora
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To: bitt

Hi.

Has Harvard, or anyone else located the head of the Wuhan Virological Institute (Dr. Shi Zhengli), and asked her opinion?

No?

She’s worm food, right?

5.56mm


13 posted on 06/09/2020 4:03:18 PM PDT by M Kehoe (DRAIN THE SWAMP! Finish THE WALL!)
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To: newzjunkey
"How did they separate a spike from covid hospital visits from the usual flu season? "

the excerpt specifically says that the study compared with previous years traffic, which would have corrected for annual "usual flu season" traffic. The COVID spike was much larger. The ChinkComs simply LIED.

14 posted on 06/09/2020 4:11:40 PM PDT by Wonder Warthog (No Longer Tolerating Trolls!)
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To: Wonder Warthog

It’s still a correlation no matter how they try to spin it. Maybe flu season started earlier in 2019 than in 2018. It could be any number of things, including COVID circulating.


15 posted on 06/09/2020 4:27:21 PM PDT by ruiner
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To: ruiner
"Maybe flu season started earlier in 2019 than in 2018."

The "flu season" wouldn't start any earlier in China than anywhere else. Yes, it "is" a correlation, but it is certainly highly suspicious. And given the ChinkComs proven propensity for lying........

16 posted on 06/10/2020 3:23:25 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog (No Longer Tolerating Trolls!)
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