I haven't heard that, but I have read (in a source I can't find at the moment) that the first known patient also had bacterial pneumonia and so was misdiagnosed

I haven't heard that, but I have read (in a source I can't find at the moment) that the first known patient also had bacterial pneumonia and so was misdiagnosed for several days, during which time several healthcare workers became infected, who in turn infected who knows how many. I'm sure the rate of initial spread, when the number of transmission events is low, is very much subject to chance/luck.