COVID-19 Update – 17 February 2020

The novel coronavirus began in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, Hubei province. Now, it’s spread to 28 other countries and territories and killed 1,775 people, the majority in mainland China. Take a look at how we got here:
 

• December 8: the First patient develops symptoms of coronavirus in Wuhan.
• December 31: Earliest cases of the virus reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• January 1: Seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, where the outbreak is believed to have originated, is closed for disinfection
• January 7: Chinese authorities confirm that they have identified the virus as a novel coronavirus
• January 9: First-person dies of the virus, though his death wasn’t announced until January 11.
• January 13: Thai authorities report their first case — a Chinese national who had arrived from Wuhan.
• January 16: Japanese authorities confirm their first case.
• January 21: US officials confirm their first case.
• January 23: Wuhan is placed on lockdown, and Lunar New Year celebrations are cancelled in major Chinese cities. Around 60 million people are affected by lockdowns and travel restrictions in other parts of China. WHO says virus is not yet a public health emergency of international concern
• January 28: Death toll tops 100. The number of confirmed cases in mainland China overtakes the deadly 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.
• January 30: WHO declares a public health emergency of international concern.
• February 2: A Chinese man dies in the Philippines — the first coronavirus death outside China.
• February 4: The Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked under quarantine in Japan’s Yokohama Bay with more than 3,700 people on board.
• February 6: Death toll tops 500 globally.
• February 7: Chinese whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang, who was targeted by Wuhan police, dies of the coronavirus. Chinese social media is flooded with grief, anger, and calls for freedom of speech.
• February 8: The US Embassy in Beijing confirms that a US national died in Wuhan on February 6, marking the first confirmed death of a non-Chinese national.
• February 11: The death toll tops 1,000 globally. The WHO names the coronavirus Covid-19.
• February 15: The first coronavirus death in Europe is confirmed.
• February 17: In the early hours of the morning, American passengers on the Diamond Princess fly out of Japan on a US-chartered evacuation plane.