COVID-19 has made it clear that public health is essential to economic recovery. The notion that we must choose between them is ridiculous – and has had deadly consequences.
The timeline plots the history of COVID-19, from the first reported case to current events,
which are kept regularly updated.
The South China Morning Post reports a possible first case of illness from the novel coronavirus. Source
12 December 2019
Health officials in Wuhan, China, begin looking at people with a viral pneumonia, most of whom went to the Huanan Seafood Market, where bats, snakes and other animals are sold. Source
30 December 2019
Dr. Li Wenliang, a Wuhan ophthalmologist, posts a WeChat message to other doctors to warn them about a new virus and advises them to wear protective gear; he is reprimanded for spreading rumors. Source
31 December 2019
A cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China is reported by Wuhan’s Municipal Health Commission. Source
1 January 2020
• The World Health Organization (WHO) sets up an Incident Management Support Team at country and regional levels and its headquarters.
• First onset of symptoms in a person later confirmed to have illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Source
• A seafood market in Wuhan associated with the cluster of cases is closed.
2 January 2020
41 people hospitalized in Wuhan, China with common symptoms of fever, cough and fatigue are confirmed to have the novel coronavirus. Source
4 January 2020
WHO announces the cluster of cases on social media.Source
5 January 2020
WHO publishes information on 44 pneumonia cases of an unknown cause in Wuhan China. Source
7 January 2020
Chinese researchers isolate a new coronavirus.
10 January 2020
• WHO issues online technical guidance, including on transmission of respiratory viruses such as SARS and MERS and infection control measures for healthcare workers.
• Professor Yong-Zhen Zhang, Fudan University, Shanghai, shares the first SARS-CoV-2 genome sequence which is deposited in GenBank, enabling the development of tests and vaccines. Source