The novel coronavirus was present in Italian wastewater in December, according to Italys public health institute.
The Istituto Superiore di Sanità said today it plans to publish a study showing the coronavirus was in sewage samples taken in Milan and Turin on December 18, over a month before the first documented case in Italy.
Samples from October and November of 2019 tested negative, ISS said.
The findings echo similar discoveries elsewhere in Europe suggesting the coronavirus was circulating globally well before Chinese authorities flagged the new infection on December 31. For example, a