Covid-19: The story of a pandemic -A timeline of the coronavirus pandemic, from the first cases in China in December 2019 to 300 million vaccine doses delivered (and counting).
A year
ago this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared covid-19 a pandemic.
Since the first case of infection with this new coronavirus was reported in
China in December 2019, SARS-CoV-2, as we now know it to be called, has killed
over 2.5 million people and infected at least 116 million. Beginning as an
unexplained, pneumonia-like illness, first detected in China’s Wuhan province,
it has since spread to almost every country, bringing life across most of the
world to a near-standstill for the last year. World leaders became ill, entire
countries were locked down to prevent the spread of infection and international
travel ceased. As most governments struggled to contain the virus, scientists
were rushing to identify and find treatments that worked against covid-19.
As infections surged worldwide, new, highly
transmissible variants of the virus were identified and are circulating ever
further.
With many
vaccines now approved, over 300 million doses have been administered, and over
65 million people are now fully vaccinated. But this represents less than 1 per
cent of the world’s population, and while the vaccine offers a glimmer of hope
for a return to normal, there is still a long way to go. As countries,
including the UK, are preparing to lift restrictions, we look back at a year
that changed the world forever.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270361-covid-19-the-story-of-a-pandemic/#ixzz6uu0z05tn
January 2020
7 January
New Scientist reports on mysterious illness
New Scientist reports for the first time about 59 cases of a mysterious pneumonia-like illness in China, linked to a wet market in Wuhan. The affected individuals became ill between 12 and 29 December 2019.
9 January
A novel coronavirus is identified
WHO reports Chinese authorities have identified a completely novel coronavirus as the cause of the illness and sequenced its genome, less than a month since the first person became ill.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270361-covid-19-the-story-of-a-pandemic/#ixzz6uu1ziwSw
11 January
The world records its first
coronavirus death
China reports that a
61-year-old man has become the first known victim of the novel coronavirus. He
was a regular customer at Wuhan’s wet market.
Read more:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270361-covid-19-the-story-of-a-pandemic/#ixzz6uu22X0jl23
January
Lockdowns begin
Wuhan is put under a strict
lockdown by the Chinese government. All travel in and out of the city is
prohibited.
25 January
The coronavirus makes it to Europe The first case of coronavirus in Europe is confirmed in France. The UK reports its first case on 31 January.
February 2020
The disease is named
WHO names the disease
caused by the coronavirus “covid-19” or” coronavirus disease 2019”, after the
year the first cases were reported.
15 February
First death recorded
outside Asia
In France, a Chinese
tourist dies from covid-19 in Paris.
20 February
The Middle East begins to
bear the brunt Iran records its first covid-19 deaths and imposes emergency
measures in the affected province. These are the first deaths reported in the
Middle East.
21 February
Europe’s lockdowns begin
Italy records its first coronavirus death and 50,000 people
from 10 towns in the north of the country enter lockdown.
29 February
The US records its first
death
The first death in the US
is reported. There have been 22 cases detected in the country so far.
March 2020
5 March
UK’s first coronavirus
death
The UK records its first
death, a woman in her 70s. 115 cases have now been confirmed in the UK.
9 March
The start of nationwide
lockdowns
Italy becomes the first
European country to impose a nationwide lockdown. Sports events are postponed,
schools and universities closed and over 60 million people ordered to stay at
home.
11 March
WHO declares covid-19 a pandemic
Tedros Ghebreyesus,
director general of the WHO, says “WHO has been assessing this outbreak around
the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and
severity. We have therefore made the assessment that covid-19 can be
characterised as a pandemic.”
13 March
US declares a state of
emergency
President Trump declares a national emergency in the US. 17 March A potential vaccine offers hope Europe closes its borders. The world’s first human trial of a covid-19 vaccine, an mRNA vaccine developed by US biotechnology company Moderna, begins.
23 March
The UK enters its first
lockdown
Following other European
nations, the UK enters a nationwide lockdown. Shortly afterwards, UK prime
minister Boris Johnson tests positive for the coronavirus.
April 2020
3 April
One million cases
Global cases reach one
million as the US records the most daily deaths from covid-19 of any country so
far. New York City is particularly hard-hit, with hospitals in the city at
capacity.
8 April
China begins to return to
normal
Lockdown is lifted in
Wuhan, China, where the first coronavirus cases were detected.
May 2020
4 May
Europe begins to ease up
After nearly two months,
Italy starts to ease its coronavirus restrictions. As infection rates slow,
measures begin to relax in other parts of Europe, too.
22 May
The situation in the
Americas gets worse
In Latin America, and
especially in Brazil, cases continue to grow. By the end of the month, daily
infections in the region overtake those in both Europe and the US as more than
2 million cases are reported.
28 May
US deaths reach 100,000 Covid-19 deaths in the US pass 100,000, making America the country with the highest number of coronavirus deaths recorded so far.
Cases begin to rise again
WHO warns cases are starting to rise again in Europe, as a result of the easing of restrictions in many countries.
Masks become mandatory in England
With WHO acknowledging evidence that the coronavirus can spread indoors via air particles, it becomes mandatory to wear masks in shops in England, bringing it in line with Scotland and other European nations including Italy and Germany.
Russia approves Sputnik V vaccine Russia announces approval of its Sputnik V covid-19 vaccine before it has undergone large-scale human trials, causing concern among international researchers.
Deaths reach one million
The world reaches a tragic milestone: 1 million deaths caused by covid-19. **** October 2020 21 October Lockdowns return Ireland becomes the first European country to impose a second nationwide lockdown. England follows two weeks later.
Vaccine trials prove successful Pfizer and BioNTech announce that results from phase III trials show their mRNA vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic covid-19.
16 November
Moderna’s mRNA vaccine is shown to be effective.
23 November
The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca’s viral vector-based vaccine is also said to have done well in trials.
December 2020
2 December
Vaccines get their first approvals
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270361-covid-19-the-story-of-a-pandemic/#ixzz6uu2AfumI
8 December
Mass vaccination begins
The
UK’s mass-vaccination programme begins as over 50 hospitals in the UK start
administering the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people aged over 80.
14 December
New variants
A new variant of the coronavirus, possibly associated with a faster spread, is identified in the county of Kent in the UK.
31 December
Parts of Africa may have to wait years
A WHO report suggests large parts of Africa may not receive covid-19 vaccines for several years.
January 2021
6 January
UK cases surge
UK hospitals risk being overwhelmed by surging cases, with evidence suggesting this is partly due to the variant first detected in Kent, which spreads faster.
15 January
2 million deaths
2 million people are reported to have died from covid-19 since the pandemic began.
26
January
UK deaths reach 100,000
The UK joins America, India, Brazil and Mexico in reaching more than 100,000 deaths from covid-19. It is the first European country to do so.
29 January
Vaccinations ramp up (unequally)
Over 7 million vaccine doses have been administered in the UK, compared to just 25 doses in the west African state of Guinea.
February 2021
16 February
Worldwide vaccination More than 216 million people have now received their first dose worldwide.
March 2021
1 March
Staying ahead of the virus
6
people in the UK test positive for the P.1 coronavirus variant first detected
in Brazil. Five of those six had either returned or had close contact with
people returning from Brazil. One of several variants, along with the B.1.1.7
and B.1.351 that may be more
transmissible, vaccine developers are already modifying existing vaccines to
stay ahead of the virus.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270361-covid-19-the-story-of-a-pandemic/#ixzz6uu2DEDPz
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