1st US COVID deaths came earlier, in different states than previously thought, according to report

COVID-19 related deaths may have been happening across the U.S. earlier than previously thought.

The Bay Area News Group reports a half-dozen death certificates from January 2020 were quietly changed to list COVID as a contributing factor in six states: California, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

The Bay Area News Group discovered evidence of the deaths in CDC data that has not been publicly released due to privacy concerns.

The findings suggest the virus quickly reached far beyond the country's first known hot spots.

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