The first person to get COVID-19 is not definitively known, but the earliest confirmed case dates back to around mid-November 2019 in Wuhan, China. A study suggests the first case likely occurred on November 17, 2019, involving a 55-year-old individual from Hubei province
. Early cases were initially linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, but some early patients, including one reported on December 1, 2019, had no connection to the market
. A detailed analysis identified a seafood vendor, Wei Guixian, who developed symptoms on December 11, 2019, as one of the earliest known cases linked to the market
. Another early case was a 41-year-old accountant who developed symptoms on December 16, 2019, but he had no link to the market and may have contracted the virus elsewhere, possibly even in a hospital setting
. In summary, while the exact "patient zero" is unclear, the first known COVID-19 infections appeared in Wuhan in November 2019, with the earliest confirmed case possibly on November 17, 2019. The outbreak initially centered around the Huanan market but also included cases without direct market exposure
