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the first ill people appear
China alerted the several cases of unusual pneumonia in Wuhan. The virus was unknown.
Several of those infected worked at the city's Seafood Market. As health experts worked to identify the virus amid growing alarm, the number of infections exceeded 40. -
Virus Identity
officials announced they had identified a new virus, according to the WHO. The novel virus was named 2019-nCoV and was identified as belonging to the coronavirus family, which includes SARS and the common cold. -
First dead
China announced its first death from the virus, a 61-year-old man who had purchased goods from the seafood market. Treatment did not improve his symptoms after he was admitted to hospital and he died of heart failure -
First international case
The WHO reported a case in Thailand, the first outside of China, in a woman who had arrived from Wuhan. Authorities in the US, Nepal, France, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan confirmed cases over the following days. -
Global emergency
the WHO declared the coronavirus a global emergency as the death toll in China jumped to 170, with 7,711 cases reported in the country, where the virus had spread to all 31 provinces. Within a few days, new cases were confirmed in India, Russia, Spain, Germany and Japan -
Expands to africa
Egypt became the first country in Africa on February 14, to report a case and France reported Europe's first death from the virus. -
virus changes jail life
Iran released said some 70,000 prisoners had been released because of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, without specifying if or when those freed would need to return to jail. -
Europe in trouble
Europe remained the epicentre of the pandemic, with Italy reporting 4,825 fatalities amid 53,578 cases, the EU took the unprecedented step to suspend rules on public deficits, giving countries free rein to inject spending into the economy as needed. -
Us surpass China
the number of deaths due to coronavirus in the US surpassed those reported by China, where the new coronavirus was detected late last year. By the end of the week, the US reported more than 4,000 amid more than 300,000 cases. -
The origin without cases
the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the global coronavirus pandemic began, said it had no remaining cases of the infection in its hospitals, with all patients treated for COVID-19 discharged.