New virus identified

Health authorities in Wuhan, an industrial city of 11 million people in central Hubei province, first document the new illness on December 8.

On December 31, China alerts the World Health Organization (WHO) to cases of pneumonia in the city.

Chinese officials say on January 7 they have identified a new virus from the coronavirus family, named 2019-nCoV.

First death

China announces its first death in Wuhan on January 11. Two days later the first case outside China is reported in Thailand, originating in Wuhan. Japan reports its first case, also from Wuhan, on January 16.

Around 10 other countries, including Australia, France and the United States,

confirm cases over the following days.

Human transmission

On January 20, as the disease spreads across China, a national infectious disease expert confirms the illness can be transmitted between humans.

Epicentre quarantined

Wuhan is placed under quarantine on January 23, with transport links cut there and in other Hubei province cities, affecting more than 56 million people. The first two deaths are reported outside Hubei.

Public shutdown

Beijing extends the New Year holiday to limit travel. On January 28, Germany and Japan confirm first two human-to-human transmissions outside China.

Evacuations

On January 29, the US and Japan become the first of several nations to start evacuating citizens from Wuhan. Coronavirus spreads to the Middle East, in the United Arab Emirates.

Some international airlines suspend their China flights. Foreign companies shutdown Chinese factories and shops.

International emergency

On January 30, the WHO declares a “public health emergency of international concern”. Russia partially shuts its border with China.

Italy declares a state of emergency. 312 Bangladeshis in Wuhan were flown back to the country by a special Bangladesh Biman flight on February 01.

First deaths outside China

On February 2, Wenzhou, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) from Wuhan, becomes the second city to be locked down. The Philippines reports the first coronavirus death outside China.

China says it will pump in 1.2 trillion yuan ($173 billion) to protect growth. Chinese stocks collapse on February 3 as exchanges reopen.

On February 4, Hong Kong reports the second death outside the mainland. The WHO says the outbreak is not yet a “pandemic”.

Cruise ships infections

On February 5, Hong Kong announces a two-week quarantine for travellers from the mainland.

Its flagship carrier Cathay Pacific asks its entire workforce to take unpaid leave.  Airbus closes an aircraft production facility near Beijing.

On February 6, workers making iPhones at Foxconn’s plant in central China are quarantined for up to two weeks.

Whistleblower dies

On February 7, a Chinese doctor who was punished after raising the alarm in late December about the coronavirus, dies from the pathogen.

More than 60 people on a cruise ship off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the virus since the ship was quarantined two days earlier, with around 3,700 onboard.

In Hong Kong, 3,600 people face a third night confined aboard another cruise ship, where eight former passengers have tested positive for the virus.

Chinese, US leaders talk

Chinese President Xi Jinping urges US President Donald Trump by telephone “to respond reasonably” to the outbreak, after Washington and other countries banned arrivals from China.

The WHO warns that the world is running out of masks and other protective equipment. Chinese scientists say the endangered pangolin, a scaly mammal, may be the potential link for the virus.

[Source: AFP, UNB]