How We Got to 55 Million Cases of Coronavirus: A Timeline

It may seem hard to believe, but the planet has been battling the COVID-19 pandemic for a year. Official sources such as the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the first cases of the disease, which is caused by a member of the coronavirus family, were detected in December, though some more recent reports indicate a case may have been discovered as early as November 2019. As we approach the one-year mark of this deadly outbreak, which has upended and altered life around the globe, here’s a look back at the past 12 months.

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The first human case of COVID-19 traces back to Wuhan, China, the sprawling, commercial capital of Central China’s Hubei province, according to the World Health Organization. (The medical journal Lancet says the first case is Dec. 1.) Some of the earliest cases have been linked to a traditional “wet market” where wild animals are sold as food. Scientists believe the virus originated in a bat, then made the leap to an animal known as a pangolin, which is still eaten in Asian cultures despite its endangered status.

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It takes about a month before China officially shuts down the market suspected as being at the center of the outbreak. A notice is posted outside the Huanan Seafood Market that “according to regulations for public health emergencies, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission's Hanjiang district bureau decided to suspend the seafood market's operation to improve its environment and sanitation.”

Two days later, China formally notifies WHO of the public health emergency taking shape and begins updating the United States about the outbreak.

Thailand reports its first case of COVID-19 just 10 days later — a 61-year old Chinese woman from Wuhan. After developing a fever with chills and a sore throat, the woman took a direct flight to Thailand from Wuhan City, according to WHO. Though the woman had a history of shopping at wet markets, she had not specifically shopped at the Huanan Seafood Market. Japan soon reports its first case as well, a man in his mid-30s.

With four deaths reported, China labels the new coronavirus a Class B infectious disease that’s serious or permanent in nature, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At around the same time, South Korea confirms its first case of the disease.

The COVID-19 diagnosis of a Washington state man who’d traveled to the Wuhan area marks the beginning of a U.S. struggle with the disease just as Hong Kong and Taiwan announce their first cases. The disease continues to spread in mainland China, popping up in Beijing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Officials from WHO meet Jan. 22-23 but decide not to declare the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The disease spreads rapidly in the days after the WHO decision. On Jan. 24 alone, 830 cases are confirmed in mainland China, and 25 deaths; Nepal, Vietnam, France, and Malaysia report their first cases; and the United States confirms its second case, a 60-year-old woman in Chicago. By Jan. 25, cases began appearing in Australia and Canada, and the United States confirms its third case.

China decides to ban wild animal trade within its borders, including in markets and online, after WHO determines that the new coronavirus is a zoonotic disease, meaning it originates from an animal, as did diseases including SARS, Ebola, and bird flu. The custom of selling wild animals for consumption (including endangered animals) is prevalent throughout Southeast Asia and Africa dating back at least centuries, despite its effects on human health and wildlife.

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As case numbers rise, the United States and Japan decide to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan, and United Airlines suspends all flights to China from the United States. The next day, several airlines in North America, Europe, and Asia follow suit. A slew of other countries confirm their first cases as January draws to a close, including Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. The world begins to step up its response to the broadening emergency.

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WHO finally declares the coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern requiring a coordinated response. At the same time, Russia closes its border with China and the United States issues a Level 4 (“Do not travel”) travel advisory for China.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issues an emergency use authorization for a CDC diagnostic test capable of identifying COVID-19. President Donald Trump, in his State of the Union address, pledges to safeguard Americans from the disease. Around the same time, a handful of countries begin banning foreign nationals, including from Taiwan, who had been to China in the past 14 days; the U.K. and France advise their citizens against all but essential travel to mainland China.

A 60-year-old American citizen in Wuhan dies from COVID-19, becoming the first officially linked American fatality. Though about 800 Americans and their family had been evacuated, the man had remained behind for unknown reasons. 

The United States pledges $100 million to help fight the coronavirus the same day Li Wenliang, one of eight whistleblower doctors who alerted the world to the disease, dies from it. By Feb. 9, the death toll from the novel coronavirus surpasses the toll from the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003.

U.S. officials issue a formal warning about COVID-19, with the CDC saying people should prepare for its likely spread, and U.S. senators returning to Washington after a weeklong recess are scheduled to get a classified briefing on the Trump administration’s planned response to the virus. Trump names Vice President Mike Pence to lead the nation’s response.

Just as the nation mobilizes, a Washington state resident in his 50s with an underlying health condition dies of the disease. The state declares a public emergency.

A wave of the coronavirus arrives in the United States. In the earliest days of the month, the U.S. reports its second COVID-19 death and Florida, California, New York, and Rhode Island declare states of emergency. The disease arrives in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, D.C., Iowa, Louisiana, and Connecticut, and by March 10, about 23 states declare as well. New Jersey and South Dakota report their first COVID-19 deaths. On the presidential level, Trump opts to skip a coronavirus briefing; Pence leads the meeting instead.

With public emergencies and bans on public gatherings declared in more than two dozen states, cultural and sporting events are shuttered. The Coachella music festival announces March 10 it would be postponed until at least October; the next day — as the United States suspends entry to all foreign nationals traveling from China, Iran, and certain European countries — the NBA suspends its season. The CDC joins the chorus, urging people across the United States to cancel or postpone events of 50 or more attendees for at least eight weeks. On March 12, Ohio announces public schools are closing until at least April 3, followed by 16 additional states, and Massachusetts leads a wave of restaurant and public dining crackdowns, with eating and drinking at bars ended until at least April 17.

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For reasons that will never be entirely clear, Americans rush to stores to buy toilet paper as the coronavirus picks up steam. By late March, toilet paper had become coveted, along with other stockpiled items such as Clorox Wipes. It is labeled panic buying.

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U.S. stocks record their worst day since a 1987 crash. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 10%, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq following suit.

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Trump declares a state of National Emergency under the Stafford Act. “Only the federal government can provide the necessary coordination to address a pandemic of this national size,” says a proclamation in his name. “It is the preeminent responsibility of the federal government to take action to stem a nationwide pandemic.”

The United States records 2,750 COVID-19 cases. With the exception of West Virginia, the disease has reached every state in the country; Georgia postpones its Democratic primary out of safety concerns.

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States begin to deal with hospitals being overrun by patients; in New York, Mayor Bill DeBlasio signs an executive order for New York City hospitals to cancel all elective surgeries.

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The Dow records its worst drop in history, falling nearly 3,000 points in response to coronavirus fears. Airlines call on the U.S. government to provide $50 billion in aid to keep the industry afloat.

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In an attempt to help prop up the floundering U.S. economy and help the millions of Americans out of work, Trump signs the Families First Coronavirus Response Act — the only relief the U.S. government has provided after the Republican-led U.S. Senate focused on appointing a Supreme Court nominee, then adjourned without taking up another relief bill. Trump invokes the Defense Production Act on March 20 to allow the administration to force manufacturers to make medical supplies in short supply.

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California takes bold action, ordering all of its 40 million residents to stay home to protect their health and well-being. By April, nearly all Americans will be under such orders.

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New York has dominated the news for much of the coronavirus crisis — largely because at this moment in spring the city is labeled the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, with reported cases doubling every three days at one point. By April 10, New York City was reported as having more COVID-19 cases than any country: 159,937 cases. The runner-ups were Spain, with 153,000 cases at the time, and Italy at 143,000.

Trump, ignoring expert opinion, endorses the use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat the coronavirus. It’s later deemed ineffective against the coronavirus, by which time Trump has mused about how to get light inside the body and recommended disinfectants as an injection — though he later claimed he was being sarcastic. Lysol and other companies rush to warn against such attempts.

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With the situation worsening by the day, Trump rolls out guidelines for reopening the country that leave it to governors to choose to lift restrictions statewide or county by county. Texas Gov. Greg Abbot soon announces a reopening for May, though by April 28 the United States has reached the grim milestone of 1 million reported cases.

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It had been widely believed that children were less susceptible to COVID-19, but the theory is seemingly shattered when three young children die in New York of a mysterious, toxic-shock inflammation syndrome linked to the coronavirus. An additional 73 children are identified as also infected by the syndrome.

As summer arrives, countries around the globe unwind lockdowns, from France reopening beaches, cultural, and sporting centers to Italy allowing in tourists and Jordan unlocking mosques. In the United States, even New York City begins a reopening. It’s estimated that lockdown measures prevented about 500 million COVID-19 related deaths. Yet the WHO points out that the pandemic is far from over and in fact, some places are still hitting record highs in cases. In the United States, by June 11, confirmed cases exceeded 2 million.

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With the United States still a mixed bag of some states improving and some growing worse, travel quarantines for Americans venturing from state to state become reality. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut require visitors from “hot spot” states to self-quarantine for 14 days.

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States continue to announce mask mandates to help slow the spread of the virus, including Texas on July 1 and Louisiana on July 11, but the face coverings remain controversial and divisive — to the point of gunfights and other violence — as some say wearing them restricts their freedom and civil liberties. Medical officials say masks are one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of COVID-19.

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New York, which for so long was ground zero for the coronavirus, announces it has reached a record-low number of COVID-19 hospitalizations: 16 straight days with a positivity rate below 1%. By Aug. 28, New York reaches its lowest rate of COVID-19 infection since the pandemic began: 0.65%.

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COVID-19 cases begin spiking again in late summer, as experts predicted, and in New York, positivity rates hit 1.5% on Sept. 28, then rise to 3.3 % the next day, the highest since June. By Oct. 1, the rate in Queens and Brooklyn is up to 6.5%, a reflection of what is taking place nationally.

After months of downplaying the virus and not wearing masks, it was not altogether surprising when it is revealed Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 — just a day after adviser Hope Hicks. Trump is treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and returned to the White House after three days, but the disease continues to spread through his staff, with Stephen Miller next testing positive Oct. 8. More than 130 Secret Service agents are afflicted too.

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States including Washington, Virginia, Maryland, Oregon, Illinois and California begin reinstating shutdown restrictions as the coronavirus surges again. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state is “pulling the emergency brake” on its reopening and reinstating broad restrictions, while Iowa’s governor announces a mask mandate.

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Cases in the United States and globally are rising precipitously. WHO’s coronavirus disease dashboard reported that as of Nov. 18 there are 55.3 million cases worldwide, including 1.3 million deaths. In the United States, to date, there have been 11 million confirmed cases, putting us millions ahead of other countries around the world. At a distant second is India with 8.9 million confirmed cases, followed by Brazil with 5.8 million cases.

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