COVID-19: It's Been Here Longer than We Thought

In January (1/3), the CDC (Fauci) reported that the 2020 flu season was on track to be the most severe season on record. Also in January (1/7) the Chinese finally announced that they were tracking a new coronavirus, that apparently had been on their radar since November/December. During the intervening months, a reported 430,000 people flew from China to the U.S., which suggests that the virus may have been introduced into the U.S. long before the initial suspected cases were reported in Washington. If this is the case, then the virus has already been in circulation in this country, mostly unremarked (due to being mistaken for flu), for as long as five months.

Wikipedia: Timeline of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic from November 2019 to January 2020 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2019–20_coronavirus_pandemic_from_November_2019_to_January_2020

Time: 2019-2020 Flu Season on Track to Be Especially Severe, New CDC Data Suggests - https://time.com/5758953/flu-season-2019-2020/

NY Times: 430,000 People Have Traveled From China to U.S. Since Coronavirus Surfaced - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/coronavirus-china-travel-restrictions.html