- On Dec. 31, the government in Wuhan, China, confirmed that health authorities were treating dozens of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause.
- On January 11 2019, a 61 year old man died from the virus in Wuhan. He was the first person to die from the 2019 novel coronavirus. He was a regular customer at the market in which the virus originated.
- The United States, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand all confirmed cases of the Coronavirus on January 20th. These were the first cases of the virus outside of mainland china.
- On Jan. 23, Chinese authorities closed off Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million, by canceling planes and trains leaving the city, and suspending buses, subways and ferries within it. At this point in time , at least 17 people had died and more than 570 others had been infected
- The World Health Organization officially declared the 2019 novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern on January 30.
- On Jan. 31, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Airlines said they would suspend service, for at least two months, between the United States and mainland China. The Trump administration said it would suspend entry into the United States by any foreign nationals who had traveled to China in the last 14 days, which is the maximum time it takes a person to become sick after being exposed to the virus. By this date, 213 people had died and nearly 9,800 had been infected worldwide.
- Dr. Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor, died on February 7 after contracting the coronavirus. He was deemed a hero after raising alarm early on that the virus could spread quickly and easily and spin out of control. However, Chinese authorities silenced him and forced him to sign a legal agreement denouncing his warning as an unfounded and illegal rumor. Dr. Li’s death provoked anger and frustration at how the Chinese government mishandled the situation by not sharing information earlier and by silencing whistle-blowers.
- Chinese officials said the death toll had reached 1,016 while the number of infections had grown to 42,638 on Feb. 11.
- After widespread public outrage, the Communist Party in China fired top government officials in Hubei province and Wuhan.
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