The coronavirus was already infecting patients in Europe as early as December, new research from France has shown. Doctors at Avencenne Hospital in Bobigny, in the suburbs of Paris, made the shocking discovery after re-examining samples of a pneumonia patient taken to their hospital in December. Asked about the importance of the discovery, head of Avencenne's intensive care unit Dr Yves Cohen told BBC Newsday: "It tells us that the virus existed in France in December.