China 'found coronavirus strain seven years ago' after mine workers fell ill and died

mirror.co.uk:

Scientists in China discovered a strain of virus close to Covid-19 seven years ago but allegedly kept quiet about it after the outbreak.

An investigation by the Sunday Times has revealed the closest "strain" to coronavirus found so far was discovered in an abandoned mine in 2013 and taken to a virology lab in Wuhan.

It was found in a bat and rat-infested copper mine in south west China. The strain saw six men come down with a fever, coughs and pneumonia in 2012 after working in the mine, with two of them sadly dying from the disease.

Four of the men were tested and they came up positive for coronavirus antibodies, with the other two unable to be tested having died from the disease.