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Geography: First Cluster of Cases Appear in Wuhan, China
A cluster of flu-like cases were detected and reported from Wuhan, China to the World Health Organization. According to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, the cases were noticed between December 12th and December 29th. The patients were placed into quarantine and research for the source of the flu began to be traced. The Huanan Wet Market is immediately closed after the discovery that wild animals may be a source to the virus. The cause and risk level of the virus is still unknown. -
Geography: Identification of New Virus in Wuhan, China
After the first cluster of cases appeared, Chinese officials began the process of identifying the cause. By January 5th, they ruled out the possibility it was a recurrence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus (SARS virus) which had killed over 700 people in China in a 2002-2003 global outbreak. By January 7th, according to the World Health Organization, they had identified the new virus, named the 2019-nCov. -
Research Advancements: Genetic Code for Vaccine
When the information about the details of the coronavirus were published by Chinese scientists to a public database on January 10th, health officials such as Dr. Graham and his team immediately began comparing the sequence to the existing ones of SARS and MERS. They focused on the spike protein, which forms on the tip of the virus and recognizes receptors of host cells. This led to the identification of the genetic sequence that could be used to develop a vaccine. -
Geography: First 2019-nCov Death, Wuhan, China
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission discloses first death by the coronavirus. A 61-year-old man, who had been admitted to a hospital in Wuhan with a suspected fever, dies from the virus. -
Geography: First Appearance of Virus Outside of China
The first case outside of Chinese borders was found in Thailand when a woman arriving from Wuhan displayed flu-like symptoms. Details about the rapidity of transmission raised global concern as a taxi driver was one of five other newly infected in Thailand due to human-to-human transmission from a traveller. This brought Thailand to 19 cases and the country hit worst by the coronavirus aside from China. -
Research Advancements: NIH Works Nationally for Vaccine for 2019-nCov
The National Institute of Health in the United States, as well as other countries' health organizations, has already begun research and work towards development of a vaccine for the 2019 coronavirus epidemic. On January 14th, a conference call was held by the NIH team to discuss what subsequent actions should be carried out with other labs across the country. -
Geography: First Case in the United States
The first case to appear in the United States was in the state of Washington when a man in his 30s was admitted to a hospital after returning from a trip to China. This triggers the resulting acceleration of media coverage as coronavirus cases are becomes more and more global. -
Global Response: Wuhan is Quarantined
Wuhan Province in China is placed under quarantine by the Chinese government in effort to isolate the coronavirus as best as possible. 5 million of the 11 million Wuhan citizens left the city before the quarantine was enforced due to Lunar New Year celebration activities. -
Global Response: China Builds Hospital to Treat Patients
Construction for the new hospital in Wuhan, China begins on January 23rd when case numbers began to overwhelm Wuhan's facilities, causing hospital staff to have to turn away patients because of lack of proper care such as beds and general supplies. The hospital was one of the two constructed to treat the coronavirus, each providing space for over 1,000 patients. By February 4th, the first 50 patients were admitted with approximately 1,400 staff members from all over China. -
Global Response: China Begins Implementing Travel Bans
As the cases begin to accumulate, China suspends traveling to and from Wuhan province, Huanggang, and Ezhou. Screening at airports in several countries such as China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United States have been implemented, despite there not being any official statement of travel bans. -
Research Advancements: Millions of Dollars for Vaccine
On January 23rd, the Coalition for Epidemic Prevention Innovations (CEPI) announced it would give $12.5 million to three specific companies for the development of 2019-nCov vaccines. The three companies the money went to had begun researching immediately after the January 10th publication of coronavirus details on a public database. -
Global Response: Miscommunication in Social Media Peaks
Social media is filled with awareness posts, updated statistics, and released videos of doctors explaining the current coronavirus situation. Racism and xenophobia towards Chinese people also peaks on this day as more people become aware of the coronavirus and misinformation about Chinese consuming bat soup as the origin of the virus is spread. -
Global Response: WHO Declares Virus a "Public Health Emergency"
The World Health Organization declares the 2019-nCov as a Public Health Emergency, an announcement that was delayed from the supposed announcement on the previous day. There are suspicions that this could both be due to reassurance of political relations with China, how it would be effective economically, or just a general lack of specific information. -
Global Response: WHO Announces Planned Response
The World Health Organization announces a $675 million response plan, intended to run through April 2020, to further isolate the virus' spread and to protect the countries that have weaker health systems. The plan is called the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) and it explains the basic necessities it needs from global health organizations such as WHO in order to execute proper public health policy measures for countries as support. -
Geography: 25 Countries Currently Affected
As of now, there are 25 countries total affected, including Australia, North America, Europe and Asia. The majority of cases, deaths, and recoveries are in Asia. Currently, there are approximately 31,500 coronavirus cases, 15% of those in critical condition, 638 deaths, and 1778 recoveries. -
Geography: First Covid-19 Death Outsides of Asia
The first coronavirus death outside of Asia was in France. The patient was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist. At the time, only three other deaths had been recorded out of the country-- in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Japan. The death toll was approaching 1,550 total. -
Geography: Italy Had a Major Surge in Cases
Europe faced their first major surge in cases. The cases increased from less than 5 to approximately 150. As a result, officials began to lock down towns and popular local events that gathered larger crowds began to be cancelled. -
Global Response: Additional Travel Restrictions
US President Donald Trump imposed additional travel restrictions to flights going to Italy, Iran, and South Korea as a result of the first death in the United States due to the virus. Travel to China had already been restricted at this point in time and were now focusing on the next most heavily impacted areas. Though not yet a ban, Vice President Mike Pence stated that they were expanding these restrictions to include anyone who visited these countries within the last 14 days. -
Geography: First Death in the US
The first coronavirus death in the US occurred in Washington and was a man in his mid-50s. There was no evidence that he had gotten the virus through contact during travels; instead, it was suspected that he may have contracted it through "domestic community spread". The number of cases in the US at this time rose to 69. Following the death, President Trump issued a conference to announce that more travel restrictions would be in place and the workings toward a vaccine were being discussed. -
Research Advancements: US Approves Widespread Testing
The CDC got rid of all federal restrictions that were in place concerning testing for Covid-19. At this time, the virus had already infected approximately 90,000 people globally with around 3,000 deaths. The CDC attempted to create a diagnostic test kit testing for infection of the virus but it was found to be flawed. -
Global Response: WHO Names Coronavirus Outbreak a Pandemic
Because of the rapidity of infection spread and the severity of it, WHO characterized Covid-19 as a pandemic in hopes of changing the level of inaction. -
Research Advancements: The First Experimental Coronavirus Vaccine
At the Kaiser Permanente Washington Research Institute in Seattle, researchers gave the first shot of an experimental coronavirus vaccine. Whether the vaccine would induce an immune response or be completely safe was unsure at that point in time. The vaccine's function was that it would produce harmless spike protein that would prime the immune system to react. Despite research going well, a safe, widespread vaccine wouldn't be available until 12 to 18 months later. -
Geography: States Began Closing Schools
Schools across the US began closing as a result of the ongoing pandemic, with almost 124,000 affected public and private schools as well as nearly 55.1 million students. By March 23, 48 of 50 states had reportedly closed schools, most of them confirming closure for the rest of the academic year by early April. Schools began turning to online resources and sessions as substitutes. -
Research Advancements: WHO Launches Solidarity Trial
The Solidarity Trial assessed effectiveness of treatment for Covid-19 by comparing four different options with the standard care treatment. Its purpose was to see if any of the drugs included in the trial slowed the virus or heightened survival chances. Approximately 100 countries have shown interest or actively participated in the trial and it is estimated that this trial will reduce the time it would normally take to conduct trials by 80%. -
Global Response: Coronavirus Aid Bill
The US Senate approved of an aid bill stating that free coronavirus testing and paid emergency leave would be ensured for families with an ill member. This caused some dispute between the Trump administration and Democratic members of the House over how inclusive this paid leave would be and particularly, the effect on small businesses. As a result, there is a proposal in the making regarding aiding these businesses in paying their employees. -
Research Advancements: China Administered First Clinical Vaccine Trials
The Covid-19 clinical vaccine trial entered Phase 1. It aims to involve 108 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60 from Wuhan, China, the origin of the virus. The participants will then be randomly assigned to three groups where they receive different dosages depending on the groups. The goal is to investigate whether or not the vaccine will cause antibody generation and provide immunity. They will then quarantine for 14 days and be studied for the following 6 months to observe any reactions. -
Global Response: US Senate Passes $2 Trillion Stimulus Package
In an attempt to soften the damage done to the economy in the midst of the virus, the Senate provided billions in credit for struggling businesses, helping the unemployed significantly. This came from the, at the time, recent data showing 3 million newly unemployed Americans within a week's time. The bill is also expected to assist hospitals, businesses, chain corporations, and local/state stimulus funds. -
Geography: US Becomes Leading Country for Confirmed Cases
The US became the leading country for confirmed cases, passing both China and Italy with approximately 20,000 deaths and 530,000 cases. This happened shortly after the US became the first country to experience an increase of 2,000 cases within a day's time. As of March 28th, every single state had experienced some form of disaster in response to the outbreak. -
Global Response: China Closes Its Borders to Foreigners
China closed it's borders to any travelers holding a foreign passport and have limited the ingoing and outgoing flights to one flight per airline per country every week. The government has also required passengers entering the country to undergo a 14-day quarantine in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Only foreigners entering for "necessary economic, trade, scientific, or technological activities or out of emergency humanitarian needs" may be exempt from the travel ban. -
Research Advancements: FDA Authorized New Coronavirus Test
The FDA approved a new test for emergency use and is said to provide results in 15 minutes, a record time compared to the other typical tests that give results within hours. The technology behind it is the same as what is behind some rapid flu tests. After the approval, production was increased to almost 50,000 tests that were to be delivered in the next week. -
Global Response: Unemployment Peaks
Approximately 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits within the last week as many businesses were forced to shut down to adhere to the quarantine orders. While working at home became options for some, millions of others lost their source of income, leading to the bill that President Trump would release providing monetary benefits for those unemployed. -
Research Advancements: Second Vaccine Trial in US Begins
The experiment, administered by Inovio Pharmaceuticals, involves using two doses of its vaccine INO-4800 in forty volunteers. Like many vaccines in development, it aims to produce harmless, but foreign, protein copies so that the immune system can familiarize itself. However, its difference is that, after the injection, researchers give patients an electrical zap that allows the synthetic DNA to more easily penetrate human cells. -
Global Response: Trump Halts WHO Funding
President Donald Trump announces that the $400 million contributed to WHO each year would be halted as his administration assesses how well the organization has handled the virus. The cease of funding was brought on by accusations of not communicating the virus's true level of severity. Immediately, the medical community fired back at this action, arguing that "fighting a global pandemic requires international cooperation" (Patrick Harris, president of the American Medical Association. -
Research Advancements: FDA Clears First Saliva Test for COVID-19
The United States FDA cleared a potential new method of testing for COVID-19. Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a method where patients will receive a plastic tube in which they spit several times; the spit is then processed in a laboratory. Though there are many other testing options, new tests remain important because "you want to be in all types of situations with all types of options so that we can have as much testing as possible in whatever form is suitable" (Dr. Adalja). -
Global Response: President Trump Announces US Reopening
US President Trump believes that, now that "the peak in new cases" has passed, governors are free to make their own decisions about state economies. He has conducted a three-phase plan under which restaurants, movie theaters, areas of worship, and sporting venues would open. The second phase would be the opening of schools and camps, as well as resumption of travel. Under Phase 3, vulnerable individuals would be allowed to have public interactions while still practicing social distancing. -
Global Response: Trump Suspends Immigration
US President Trump declares that he is "suspending immigration" in order to "protect jobs". As a result, the Trump administration has closed the border between the United States and Canada and started deporting migrants along the southern border of the states without the proper processes. He has stated that he will be signing an executive order to stop immigration into the US. -
Research Advancements: Oxford Scientists Lead Race for Vaccine
Scientists from the Jenner Institute in Oxford, England have a head start in the development of a vaccine due to a treatment against a coronavirus last year. They had already proved that similar treatments could not harm humans and thus led them directly to carry out human testing. These scientists now say that, with authorization from officials, doses of the vaccine could be available as soon as September 2020 if proven to be effective. -
Research Advancements: Remdesivir Drug Shows Promise
One of the many experimental drugs for coronavirus has proven to have benefits, according to Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. According to a 1,000-patient study conducted worldwide, the drug has shown to decrease the time to recovery. When comparing the group receiving the drug and the group receiving the placebo, the patients receiving the drug were admitted out of the hospital 4 days earlier than those receiving the placebo.
