COVID-19: from Wuhan to the world, 2019–2023

Timeline

Layers

Cases reported (under 10 new cases per million in 14 days) · 10–100 new cases per million in 14 days · 100–500 new cases per million in 14 days · 500+ new cases per million in 14 days · Dominant variant: Earlier lineages · Dominant variant: Alpha (B.1.1.7) · Dominant variant: Beta (B.1.351) · Dominant variant: Gamma (P.1) · Dominant variant: Other variants (Epsilon, Iota, Lambda, Mu…) · Dominant variant: Delta (B.1.617.2) · Dominant variant: Omicron BA.1 · Dominant variant: Omicron BA.2 · Dominant variant: Omicron BA.4 / BA.5 (incl. BQ.1) · Dominant variant: Omicron XBB

Events

• 31 Dec 2019, Wuhan pneumonia cluster reported to WHO: Wuhan health authorities publish a notice on cases of viral pneumonia; the WHO China office notes it and informs the regional office. Early cases include a cluster linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.
• 10 Jan 2020, China shares the virus genome: The first SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences from Chinese institutions are made public via Virological.org and GISAID, enabling diagnostic tests to be developed worldwide.
• 11 Jan 2020, First death reported in Wuhan: Chinese state media report the first death from the new coronavirus, a 61-year-old man who was a regular customer at the Huanan Seafood Market; he died on 9 January.
• 13 Jan 2020, First case confirmed outside China: Thailand: Thailand confirms a case in a 61-year-old woman from Wuhan, the first confirmed case outside China.
• 21 Jan 2020, First US case announced: The CDC announces the first US case, a man from Snohomish County, Washington, who had returned from Wuhan on 15 January and sought care in Everett.
• 23 Jan 2020, Wuhan placed under lockdown: Traffic in and out of Wuhan, a city of over 11 million, is stopped. Other Hubei cities follow within days, affecting tens of millions of people.
• 24 Jan 2020, First cases in Europe confirmed in France: France confirms three cases, in Bordeaux and Paris, the first in Europe.
• 30 Jan 2020, WHO declares a Public Health Emergency: The WHO declares the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, its highest level of alert.
• 3 Feb 2020, Huoshenshan hospital opens in Wuhan: A 1,000-bed hospital, built in about ten days, receives its first patients.
• 3 Feb 2020, Diamond Princess quarantined at Yokohama: The cruise ship returns to Yokohama and is quarantined; 712 of the 3,711 people aboard are eventually infected.
• 7 Feb 2020, Death of Dr Li Wenliang in Wuhan: Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who had warned colleagues about early cases in December, dies of COVID-19 aged 34.
• 17 Feb 2020, Mulhouse church gathering seeds French spread: A week-long gathering of the Christian Open Door Church (17 to 24 February), attended by about 2,500 people, becomes a significant early cluster in France.
• 18 Feb 2020, Daegu church cluster begins South Korea surge: South Korea's 31st case, a member of the Shincheonji church in Daegu, is confirmed; case numbers rise rapidly in the following days.
• 19 Feb 2020, Iran reports first cases in Qom: Two people test positive in Qom, Iran's first confirmed cases. Within weeks several countries report cases among travellers from Iran.
• 21 Feb 2020, Codogno cluster and Lombardy red zone: Clusters are detected in Lombardy and Veneto. On 22 February Italy announces quarantine for more than 50,000 people in 11 municipalities, including Codogno.
• 9 Mar 2020, Italy locks down the whole country: Measures first applied in the red zones are extended to all of Italy, placing about 60 million people in lockdown.
• 11 Mar 2020, WHO characterises COVID-19 as a pandemic: The WHO Director-General says COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.
• 13 Mar 2020, Tyrol quarantines Ischgl: The Tyrolean ski resort is quarantined from 13 March to 22 April. Infections among visitors there were traced to hundreds of cases in Austria, Germany and Nordic countries.
• 14 Mar 2020, Spain declares a state of alarm: A nationwide state of alarm for 15 days takes effect, restricting movement across Spain.
• 19 Mar 2020, China reports no new local cases: China reports no new locally transmitted cases, including in Wuhan and Hubei, for the first time; the 34 new cases are all imported.
• 19 Mar 2020, Army deployed in Bergamo as dead overwhelm city: The army is deployed in Bergamo, the worst-hit Italian city, to carry the dead to crematoriums in other cities because local cemeteries are full.
• 23 Mar 2020, United Kingdom orders a national lockdown: The prime minister announces a stay-at-home order for the UK; it becomes legally effective on 26 March.
• 24 Mar 2020, Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed: The IOC, organisers and the Japanese prime minister announce the Games will be rescheduled, the only postponement in Olympic history.
• 25 Mar 2020, India begins a 21-day national lockdown: Announced on 24 March and effective from midnight, the lockdown covers India's whole population, about 1.38 billion people, and triggers a large movement of migrant workers.
• 7 Apr 2020, New York State records its highest toll yet: New York State reports 731 deaths in 24 hours, its highest single-day total up to then, with New York City the centre of the US outbreak.
• 8 Apr 2020, Wuhan lockdown lifted after 76 days: The lockdown that began on 23 January ends and transport in Wuhan resumes.
• 11 Jun 2020, Beijing Xinfadi market cluster: A case is confirmed in Beijing and linked to the Xinfadi wholesale market; testing finds dozens more positive samples and the city re-imposes restrictions.
• 16 Jun 2020, Dexamethasone shown to cut deaths: The RECOVERY trial reports that dexamethasone cut deaths by about a third in ventilated patients and a fifth in patients on oxygen.
• 11 Aug 2020, Russia registers Sputnik V: Russia registers its adenovirus-vector vaccine before phase 3 trials are completed.
• 28 Sep 2020, Global COVID-19 deaths pass one million: Johns Hopkins University's tally of reported deaths passes one million, nine months into the pandemic.
• 4 Nov 2020, Denmark orders culling of all farmed mink: The government orders every farmed mink in the country slaughtered over fears of viral mutations.
• 9 Nov 2020, Pfizer-BioNTech report efficacy above 90%: BioNTech, based in Mainz, and Pfizer report an interim analysis showing their mRNA vaccine is more than 90% effective.
• 8 Dec 2020, First vaccination outside trials in the UK: Margaret Keenan, 90, receives the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at University Hospital Coventry, the first person in the world vaccinated outside trials.
• 14 Dec 2020, Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) identified in Kent: The UK health secretary announces a new variant spreading faster in south-east England; it was first identified in Kent and sampled from September.
• 18 Dec 2020, Beta variant announced in South Africa: South Africa announces a new lineage, later named Beta, first detected in Nelson Mandela Bay in Eastern Cape.
• 6 Jan 2021, Gamma variant identified, traced to Manaus: Japan's NIID detects a new variant in travellers from Amazonas state; the lineage, later named Gamma, emerged in Manaus.
• 14 Jan 2021, Manaus hospitals run short of oxygen: Demand for oxygen peaks in Manaus and the city cannot meet it; some patients are transferred to other states.
• 22 Feb 2021, United States passes 500,000 reported deaths: The US passes 500,000 reported COVID-19 deaths, five weeks after passing 400,000.
• 24 Feb 2021, COVAX delivers its first vaccines to Ghana: Ghana becomes the first country to receive vaccines through COVAX, with 600,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
• 7 May 2021, India's second wave sets a record for daily cases: India reports over 414,000 new cases in 24 hours, a world record at the time, amid oxygen and hospital bed shortages.
• 31 May 2021, WHO introduces Greek-letter names for variants: The WHO announces simple labels based on the Greek alphabet, naming Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.
• 23 Aug 2021, FDA fully approves the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: The US FDA approves the vaccine, branded Comirnaty, for people aged 16 and older.
• 24 Nov 2021, South Africa reports Omicron to the WHO: South Africa's genomic surveillance network reports B.1.1.529 to the WHO; on 26 November the WHO designates it a variant of concern and names it Omicron.
• 3 Jan 2022, US reports over one million daily cases: During the Omicron surge the US reports more than 1 million new cases in one day, partly reflecting holiday reporting backlog.
• 28 Mar 2022, Shanghai begins a staged lockdown: Shanghai begins a staged lockdown, first east of the Huangpu river; it extends citywide in early April, affecting 25 million people, and ends on 1 June.
• 12 May 2022, North Korea acknowledges its first outbreak: State media report positive COVID-19 samples and declare a severe national emergency, after more than two years of reporting no cases.
• 24 Nov 2022, Urumqi fire sparks protests over restrictions: A fatal fire in a residential building in Urumqi, a city under long restrictions, is followed by protests in several Chinese cities.
• 7 Dec 2022, China eases its zero-COVID policy: China loosens rules on detention of positive cases and compulsory PCR tests; the policy is widely regarded as ended after the health code app is taken offline on 12 December.
• 5 May 2023, WHO ends the COVID-19 emergency: The WHO ends the Public Health Emergency of International Concern for COVID-19.