May 24 (UPI) -- China said Monday a report that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill as early as November 2019, a month befor

China denies three Wuhan lab researchers fell ill in November 2019

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2021-05-24 21:30:10

May 24 (UPI) -- China said Monday a report that three scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology fell ill as early as November 2019, a month before the first known outbreak of COVID-19 from a seafood market, is not true.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that according to a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report, researchers were hospitalized in November. Advertisement

The Trump administration in January issued a fact sheet that said an undisclosed number of Wuhan lab scientists began to exhibit "symptoms consistent with both COVID-19 and common seasonal illness." RELATED China's diplomats voice disapproval after U.S., South Korea summit

The Trump-era State Department document did not say how many people were hospitalized and only said the infections occurred in autumn 2019. The document also did not confirm whether the patients' symptoms required hospital care, according to CNN Monday.

A Wall Street Journal source identified as one of several current and former U.S. officials said the information can be trusted.