A doctor claims that COVID-19 was present in Europe in December, which is earlier than what was originally thought.

Dr. Yves Cohen, an intensive care chief in Paris, said that looking back, a positive case of COVID-19 was identified at Jean-Verdier Hospital in the northeastern Paris suburb of Bondy on Dec. 27, according to ABC News. That would be around the same time the first cases of the virus were detected in China.