Timeline of coronavirus outbreak

This article documents the chronology and epidemiology of the responsible for the  in, and may not include all  contemporary major responses and measures. Furthermore some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect.

1–8 December 2019
On 2019-12-08, the first patient was recorded by Chinese authorities to start showing symptoms. A later Chinese report finds an earlier case on 1 December, pointing to an even earlier origin.

30–31 December 2019
On 2019-12-30, an "urgent notice on the treatment of pneumonia of unknown cause" was issued by the Medical Administration and Medical Administration of Wuhan Municipal Health Committee.

27 people with pneumonia of unknown cause were to the WHO on 31 December. Most were stallholders from the, seven of whom were in critical condition. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission also made a public announcement regarding the situation. Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan immediately tightened their inbound screening processes as a result.

1 January 2020
Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, the source of the initial pneumonia cases, was closed on 2020-01-01 for cleaning and disinfection. On the same day, Chinese state news reported that Wuhan police interviewed 8 residents for spreading "misinformation" referring to the new infection as another SARS and "exaggerating" the danger. However, reported on the same date that Wuhan police said they had punished eight people for "publishing or forwarding false information on the internet without verification."

2 January
41 admitted hospital patients were identified as laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection in Wuhan. 27 (66%) patients had direct exposure to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

5 January
Early investigations into the cause of the pneumonia ruled out, SARS, and. The number of suspected cases reached 59 with seven in a critical condition. All were quarantined and 163 contacts commenced monitoring. At this time, there were no reported cases of human-to-human transmission or presentations in healthcare workers.

9 January
The WHO confirmed that a novel coronavirus had been isolated from one person who was hospitalised. On the same day, the posted its first risk assessment. The WHO also reported that Chinese authorities had acted swiftly, identifying the novel coronavirus within weeks of the onset of the outbreak, with the total number of positively tested people being 41. The first death from the virus occurred in a 61-year-old man who was a regular customer at the market. He had several significant medical conditions, including chronic liver disease, and died from heart failure and pneumonia. The incident was reported in China by the via  on 11 January.

10 January
The gene sequencing data of the isolated, a virus from the same family as the SARS coronavirus, was posted on Virological.org by researchers from , Shanghai. A further three sequences from the, one from the , and one from in Wuhan were posted to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data  portal. The same day, issued its guidance.

11–12 January
In China, more than 700 close contacts of the 41 confirmed cases, including more than 400 healthcare workers, had been monitored, with no new cases reported in China since 5 January. The WHO published initial guidance on travel advice, testing in the laboratory and medical investigation.

On 12 January, Hubei's provincial representatives from all over the province met in Wuhan until 18 January.

13 January
The announced that the genome had been posted on the  genetic sequence database,. On the same day, Thailand witnessed the first confirmed case of 2019-nCoV, the first outside China. The affected 61-year-old Chinese woman, who is a resident of Wuhan, had not visited the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but was noted to have been to other markets. She had arrived in Bangkok on 8 January.

14–15 January
On 14 January, two of the 41 confirmed cases in Wuhan were reported to include a married couple, raising the possibility of human-to-human transmission.

A second death occurred in a 69-year-old man in China on 15 January. The WHO published a protocol on diagnostic testing for 2019-nCoV, developed by a virology team from.

16–17 January
On 16 January, the WHO was alerted by Japan's that a 30-year-old male Chinese national had tested positive to 2019-nCoV during a hospital stay between 10 and 15 January. He had not visited the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but possibly had close contact with an affected person in Wuhan.

On 17 January, Thailand's second confirmed case was reported in a 74-year-old woman who arrived in Bangkok on a flight from Wuhan. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases rose to 45 in China.

18 January
After the first 41 laboratory-confirmed cases were identified on January 2, 2020, 16 days elapsed with no further confirmed cases before China reported 17 additional laboratory-confirmed cases, with three cases in critical condition. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases rose to 62 in China, with the ages ranging from 30 to 79, of which 19 were discharged and eight remain critical.

On the same day, the Wuhan government organised an annual banquet of forty thousand families. They shared meals and ate together.

19 January
On 19 January, the first confirmed cases were reported in China, outside Wuhan, one in the southern province of Guangdong and two in Beijing. Wuhan reported 136 additional laboratory-confirmed cases, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in China to 201. A new death was also reported in Wuhan, bringing the total number of fatalities in China to three.

20 January
Chinese premier has urged decisive and effective efforts to prevent and control the epidemic. First confirmed case reported in South Korea. Beijing and Guangdong reported an additional three and thirteen laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. Shanghai confirms its first case, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in China to 218. The investigation team from China's National Health Commission confirmed that the coronavirus can be transmitted between humans. At least two people had become infected whilst living hundreds of miles from Wuhan.

21 January
The announced that it would hold an emergency meeting on the virus the following day to determine if the virus is a " (PHEIC)".

Confirmed cases were reported in several new locations in China. province and reported five and two laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. Guangdong reported three additional laboratory-confirmed cases. Shanghai and province reported an additional four and one laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. One laboratory-confirmed case was reported in province, and  reported five laboratory-confirmed cases. , and  all reported one laboratory-confirmed case each. reported two laboratory-confirmed cases. The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in China increased to 312 and the death toll increased to six.

15 Wuhan medical staff infections were reported, of which 14 were from a suspected.

New cases were also reported outside of mainland China. Taiwan reported its first laboratory-confirmed case, and the reported its first laboratory-confirmed case in the, the first in.

22 January
WHO's emergency committee was unable to reach a consensus on whether the outbreak should be classified as due to lack of information. The committee will resume discussion the next day.

New cases: and  reported their first laboratory-confirmed cases, with Hong Kong reporting its second on the evening of 22 January. Beijing reported an additional five laboratory-confirmed cases, while Guangdong reported an additional nine laboratory-confirmed cases. Shanghai reported an additional five laboratory-confirmed cases, while Tianjin reported an additional two laboratory-confirmed cases. Zhejiang and Jiangxi reported an additional five and one laboratory-confirmed cases, respectively. reported its first two laboratory-confirmed cases. ,, , and  reported one laboratory-confirmed case each. reported four laboratory-confirmed cases. Hunan reported three additional laboratory-confirmed cases. reported two laboratory-confirmed cases. In all, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in China increased to 571 and the death toll to 17.

In response, the government announced a quarantine until further notice, cancelling outgoing flights and trains from Wuhan, and suspending public transportation in Wuhan, effective 10:00 (02:00, ) on 23 January. However, statistics compiled by the showed that on the same day approximately 100,000 people had already departed from Wuhan Train Station by the deadline. Furthermore, many Wuhan residents bypassed the checkpoints by taking s, having seen tips shared on.

Internationally, two more laboratory-confirmed cases were reported in Thailand, raising the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in Thailand to four.

New data showed indications of the current rapid spread of the disease and an increase in the rate of transmission.

23 January
reported its first laboratory-confirmed case. reported its first two laboratory-confirmed cases. Both Fujian and Guangxi reported an additional three laboratory-confirmed cases each. Shanghai reported an additional seven laboratory-confirmed cases. reported two laboratory-confirmed cases. reported three laboratory-confirmed cases. reported two laboratory-confirmed cases. Macau also reported its second laboratory-confirmed case, another 66-year-old man from Wuhan. In all, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases in mainland China increased to 628 while the death toll remained at 17.

reported its first laboratory-confirmed case, a 66-year-old man from China. confirmed its first two laboratory-confirmed cases, a 66-year-old father and 28-year-old son from China.

Wuhan from 10 a.m. onwards, including all bus, metro and ferry lines. Additionally, all outbound trains and flights were halted. In Wuhan, construction began near midnight for a, modelled after the during the  in Beijing, after it was proposed earlier in the afternoon. The new is expected to open by 3 February with a capacity of at least 1,000 beds.

The three provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Hunan declared a level 1 public health emergency (the highest possible) in chronological order.

The release of all seven major films for the Lunar New Year was practically cancelled. In an example of, , which was released in 2012, surged to become the most popular app in China.

24 January
The seven provinces, two autonomous regions, and all four municipalities of Hubei, Anhui, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Shandong, Fujian, Guangxi, and Hebei declared a level 1 public health emergency, in chronological order. The city of was quarantined, raising the number of people in quarantined cities to 35 million. The entire Hubei province now came under a city-by-city quarantine, save for and.

Shandong reported six additional laboratory-confirmed cases. Hunan reported 15 additional laboratory-confirmed cases. Liaoning reported one additional laboratory-confirmed case. Fujian reported four additional laboratory-confirmed cases. Anhui reported six additional laboratory-confirmed cases. Ningxia reported one additional laboratory-confirmed case. Shanghai reported 13 additional laboratory-confirmed cases, bringing the total up to 33.

Japan, South Korea, and the United States all confirmed their second cases. Singapore confirmed its second and third cases. Thailand confirmed its fifth case. Hong Kong confirmed three additional cases, bringing the total number to five. Nepal confirmed its first case, a student who returned from Wuhan.

France reported its first three confirmed cases, the first occurrences in the EU. The French Health Minister stated that it is likely other cases would arise in the country.

The first confirmed incidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China was documented by the WHO in Vietnam.

All 70,000 Chinese cinemas were closed until further notice. Multiple tourist sites across China were closed until further notice, including, , , , , , , , , , , , and. Citing the coronavirus outbreak, and  suspended some operations in China.

The Beijing and Shanghai governments have "urged residents returning from coronavirus outbreak areas to stay at home for 14 days to prevent its spread."

A study by Chinese researchers indicates that people can be symptom-free for several days while the coronavirus is incubating, increasing the risk of contagious infection without forewarning signs.

25 January
Level 1 health emergency was declared in the 10 provinces and three autonomous regions of Jiangsu, Hainan, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Henan, Gansu, Liaoning, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Jilin, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia, in chronological order. It is now in effect in all 30 of the 31 provincial-level divisions in mainland China with cases reported, the exception being Tibet.

Australia confirmed its first four cases, one in and three in. Malaysia reported its first three cases in, and a fourth case later. Japan confirmed its third case. Canada confirmed its first case in. Thailand added two new cases for a total of seven. Singapore confirmed their fourth case.

A 62-year-old doctor reportedly died in the Hubei province from the coronavirus.

China's National Health Commission had sent 1,230 medical staff in six groups to Wuhan City, central China's Hubei Province, to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak in the region. As of 25 January, three of the six groups began their work in the virus-hit area. Local media earlier reported that 450 military medical personnel have also landed in the city to offer support. Wuhan announced building a second emergency specialty hospital, named, with a planned capacity of 1,300 beds, to be in use in half a month.

Beijing announced it will halt all inter-provincial bus and train services starting 26 January.

met to discuss novel coronavirus prevention and control. ,, stated that the country is facing a "grave situation" as the number of infected people is accelerating.

A Chinese and a Sri Lankan suspected with the infection were admitted to a hospital in Sri Lanka.

26 January
Leading group on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak was established, led by Chinese Premier. The leading group has decided to extend holiday to contain coronavirus outbreak.

reported its first death, an 88-year-old man.

The United States confirmed its third, fourth, and fifth cases: two in and one in. Macau confirmed three additional cases, bringing its total to five. Hong Kong has confirmed its sixth, seventh, and eighth cases. Thailand has confirmed its eighth case. The first of five patients was already discharged. There are another 39 suspected cases awaiting confirmation.

The (CCDC) has started developing vaccines against the coronavirus, an official with the center said on Sunday.

Health officials in Ivory Coast are dealing with a suspected case of coronavirus, the country's health ministry has announced.

The city of declared a partial lockdown, though this was quickly reversed.

China banned all wildlife trade with immediate effect.

The United Nation's Director-General  said he was on his way to Beijing to confer with Chinese officials and health experts about the coronavirus outbreak.

China started requiring nationwide use of monitoring stations for screening, identification and immediate isolation of coronavirus-infected travellers, including at airports, railway stations, bus stations and ports.

Schools in Beijing would stay closed until further notice to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Separately, the Beijing Government stated it will not lock-down the city.

A tentative clinical profile for the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was published by an assistant professor of population health science at the in New York. The lethality of the virus is unknown; however, the death toll has now climbed to above three percent.

27 January
Chinese Premier visited Wuhan, epicentre of virus outbreak, to direct the epidemic prevention work.

China’s Finance Ministry and National Health Commission extended 60.33 billion yuan (US$8.74 billion) to help contain coronavirus.

Wuhan suspends visa, passports services for Chinese citizens until 30 January.

The Shanghai government has said companies in the city are not allowed to resume operations before 9 February. Chinese tech company asks staff to work from home until 7 February due to coronavirus.

Canada reported its first confirmed case and another presumptive case. Health officials have confirmed the fifth case of coronavirus in Australia, and have suspected an additional 5. The Sri Lankan Health Ministry confirms its first case of coronavirus, a 43 year old Chinese woman. Cambodia confirms its first case of the virus, a Chinese man who came with his family to. Singapore confirms a fifth case, a 56 year old Chinese national who arrived from Wuhan on 18 January.

Germany confirmed its first case in, a case of domestic transmission. Taiwan reports its first case of domestic transmission of the coronavirus.

reports first death from coronavirus.

Three new suspected cases in Austria; previous suspected cases tested negative. The '' Institute reported the first possible case in Romania. Ecuador reported a suspected case of coronavirus, a Chinese citizen who arrived from Hong Kong. Fiji authorities are holding six Chinese travelers in quarantine in as a precaution after they failed to gain entry to Samoa due to Samoa's quarantine requirements that were implemented Friday. The quarantine requirements, imposed after an emergency Cabinet meeting, compel anyone who's been in China to "self-quarantine" in a country free from the coronavirus for 14 days. In Poland, two children were admitted to the hospital with the suspicion of coronavirus. In Mongolia a 14-year-old girl who was studying in China had fallen ill with a suspected case of pneumonia and laryngitis; she was pronounced dead on the same day. Health authorities have since taken a sample from the deceased girl to be analysed at the National Center for Communicable Diseases in. Two Mongolian students returning from Taiwan to have shown symptoms of high fever and rising temperature and were put into quarantine after landing in Mongolia. In Switzerland, two people were put under quarantine at the in Zurich, both had previously been to China. These cases later turned up negative.

The mayor of Wuhan acknowledges criticism over his handling of the crisis, admitting that information was not released quickly enough. He said he would resign if it helped with public opinion but pointed out the local government was obliged to seek permission before fully disclosing information about the virus, and that their response had since become "tougher than others".

suspends public transit to prevent spread of coronavirus.

28 January
Thailand confirms six more cases, bringing the total infected there to 14. Thailand's health minister,, states that “we are not able to stop the spread” of coronavirus in the country.

Singapore confirms two more cases, bringing the total infected in Singapore to seven. That was followed by a Hubei-related suspension from 29 January. Japan confirms 3 additional cases, bringing the total infected in Japan to seven, including a man who had never visited Wuhan. He was working as a tour bus driver and had driven a group from Wuhan earlier in January.

Germany's first confirmed case, reported the previous day, had occurred in a German citizen who had not travelled to China. However, he had close contact with a visiting Chinese colleague who reported starting to feel ill during her return flight to Shanghai and she was diagnosed with coronavirus infection after arriving in China. Germany confirmed 3 new cases, all of whom were coworkers of the first confirmed patient. France confirmed its fourth case, an elderly Chinese tourist who is in critical condition.

The Brazilian reports three suspected cases ongoing in three locations:  (MG),  (PR) and  (RS). Canada reports a new presumptive case in, a man in his 40s who had recently travelled to Wuhan.

A UK-Chinese medical research paper reports a statistical model finding that "estimates suggest the actual number of infected cases could be much higher than the reported, with estimated 26,701 cases (as of 28th January 2020)."

Scientists from The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) in Melbourne reported that they had successfully grown 2019-nCoV from a patient sample.

29 January
reported its first suspected case, and subsequently declared a level 1 health emergency, the last province to do so.

The confirms its first case. Shortly afterwards, ' news agency confirmed four people from a Chinese family to be infected. Finland reports its first case of the virus in. Singapore confirms three more cases of the virus, bringing the total infected to 10 cases. Malaysia confirmed three additional cases, bringing its total to seven. Japan has its eighth case, a tour bus guide that was on the same bus as one of the cases confirmed on 28 January. France confirmed a 5th case, the daughter of an infected Chinese tourist.

Companies in Hubei are required not to resume service before 13 February, and schools in Hubei are to postpone the reopening of schools.

Two Chinese nationals were placed in isolation wards in amid the first suspected case of coronavirus in the country. The Chinese nationals were tourists travelling to Armenia from neighbouring. Liana Torosyan, the head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, advised that samples will be sent to European labs, as Armenia does not have the capacity to test for novel coronavirus.

Brazil has now nine suspected cases ongoing in six states.

Reactions and Measures Outside Mainland China
Strict surveillance measures are being enforced at airports, seaports and border crossings to prevent the disease wide-spreading into countries/territories which share border or be in the neighbourhood of the China Mainland. Accordingly,, and some  (notably Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam) are thermally monitoring passengers arriving at their major international airports, while flights from and/or to Wuhan were ceased operating. More seriously, even bans international flights and foreign visitors and  (PNG) bans travellers from all Asian countries.

, North Korea, the of  close their borders with China Mainland. At the same time, shuts a border gate down while its other three are still in active with strict measures. closes four out of its eleven border checkpoints with mainland China. Activity through gateways in, and Vietnam are put under extra supervision from the Government and medical staffs. PNG ordered a close on border with on the island of.

, and the  suspend visa issuance toward Hubei-related visitors who either previously had travel history, or currently hold a passport issued by Hubei and its neighbourhood's authorities.

Public gatherings (,, , etc.) are discouraged in the mean time or paused till further notice when the outbreak is put under control.

3 January
Thailand began screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at four different airports. Singapore began screening passengers at on the same day.

6 January
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) issued a travel watch at Level 1 ("Practice usual precautions") on 6 January, with recommendations on washing hands and more specifically advising avoiding animals, animal markets, and contact with unwell people if travelling to Wuhan.

22 January
closes its borders and bans foreign tourists over the nCoV.

23 January
Following the first laboratory-confirmed case on 23 January, Singaporean airline cancelled flights to Wuhan between 23 and 26 January over the virus outbreak, after a  was imposed. Schools have also asked parents to declare their travel plans and monitor their children's health. Other measures will also be taken to ensure the safety of students. has since issued two medical advisories to service personnel.

24 January
Following the two laboratory-confirmed cases on 23 January, sent a written directive requesting that all flights from and to Wuhan, to be cancelled immediately until further notice and the tickets should be refunded. Exceptionally, the Authority operates four special flights to carry Wuhan passengers home during the period from 24-27 January, and a backward flight to excavate Vietnamese citizens and diplomats. In Singapore, border control measures were enhanced and extended to land and sea checkpoints with the and  starting temperature checks from noon of that day.

The had closed its border with China until 7 February, while Russian tour operators were inhibited starting 27 January.

25 January
declared a state of emergency and announced it would close schools until 17 February. and close until further notice.

The United States announces plans to evacuate US citizens out of Wuhan by charter jet. The US government later clarified that it only had limited capacity for private citizen evacuations.

26 January
Hong Kong announced it will ban anyone who has been to Hubei Province in the last 14 days from entering the city starting 27 January.

27 January
closes border with China, shuts down schools until 2 March, and calls for all public gatherings to be cancelled.

International border gate centres of -  are suspended against Chinese tourists. The decision was declared by the head of Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, after an urgent notice from 's Authorities.

Following the action from Hong Kong authorities, stated that it will deny entry to visitors from the Mainland's Hubei province or those who had visited the province 14 days prior to arrival unless they are virus-free.

Singapore imposes a 14 days leave of absence for those working in schools, healthcare and eldercare who travelled to China in the last 14 days.

Malaysia suspends all visa facilities for Chinese tourists from Hubei and its neighbouring provinces in China.

The USCDC expands travel advisory from Wuhan to the whole of Hubei Province. Later that day, the raises the travel advisory for China to Level 3 ("Reconsider Travel: Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security.") due to coronavirus. The same day, the USCDC again updates its travel health notice to Warning - Level 3, Avoid All Nonessential Travel to China.

28 January
The Philippines suspends issuance of to Chinese nationals.

Singapore announces a suspension from 29 January, 12pm of entry or transit for all new visitors with recent Hubei travel history within the last 14 days, or holders of China passports issued in Hubei.

Hong Kong temporarily closes four of the eleven ports with the Mainland. , the Chief Executive, stated the high-speed rail service between Hong Kong and mainland China would be suspended starting 30 January and all cross-border ferry services would also be suspended in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus. Additionally, flights from mainland China would be cut in half, cross-border bus services reduced, and the Hong Kong government is asking all its employees (except those providing essential or emergency services) to work from home. In a later press conference, Carrie Lam said that the and  border checkpoints would be closed.

Thailand starts scanning all travellers from China with immediate effect.

The UK's warns Britons not to travel to mainland China, unless their journey is essential.

The U.S. CDC stated it was boosting staffing at 20 US airports that have quarantine facilities.

29 January
The Government of bans all travellers from Asian countries and shut down its border with. The order takes effect from 30 January. and temporarily suspended flights from China, Macau, and Hong Kong until the end of February and restricted diplomatic work in those destinations. is considering the same measures. and cancel all flights to and from mainland China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announces that its director-general has decided to reconvene their international health regulations emergency committee on 30 January to reconsider declaring a global health emergency, technically a “” (PHEIC). The reconvening is due "mainly on the evidence of increasing number of cases, human-to-human transmission outside of China, and the further development of transmission." The committee meeting is planned to start at 13:30 Geneva time. Further, the WHO announces their having set up “The Pandemic Supply Chain Network (PSCN)” in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.

The Government of Canada issued a travel advisory to avoid non-essential travel to China due to the imposition of travel restrictions and quarantines in parts of the country in order to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Government of Canada also issued a regional travel advisory to avoid all travel to the Province of —including the cities of, and —due to the imposition of heavy travel restrictions. On the same day, the  announced that an aircraft would be sent to repatriate Canadians from the areas affected by the novel coronavirus in China. As a result of the travel advisories issued by the Canadian government, suspended all direct flights to China until at least 29 February.