On Jan. 30, 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is now a “global health emergency.” In China, many people are horrified for their lives, and it is now spreading to other places in the world. It is clear that there is a connection to the SARS virus since the virus starts from flu symptoms and leads to a serious pneumonia-like disease impacting the respiratory system. 

Dec. 31, 2019: Multiple people in Wuhan, China report having symptoms of flu that quickly turned into a nasty cough. Exposure is suspected to have originated from a seafood market (Huanan) in Wuhan but not yet confirmed. 

Jan. 9, 2020: The first death from the virus, a 61-year-old man, is recorded in Wuhan. 

Jan. 20: The first human-to-human transmission is confirmed by a Chinese expert studying the disease. Lunar New Year celebration is continuing to spread the alarming virus.

Jan. 23: The cities Wuhan, Xiantao and Chibi are placed in quarantine as the number of deaths rises. 

Jan. 25: Travel restrictions begin to go in effect in Hubei Province, which affects over 56 million people. 

Jan. 26: A 21-year-old American college student, Nicholas Schneider, is trapped in Wuhan as the virus continues to spread in the quarantined areas. 

“It’s like a ghost town, barely any people and cars. It’s a weird feeling. I feel like I’m in an apocalypse somehow,” said Schneider during a phone interview with Reuters. Multiple new cases are reported outside of China in the U.S., Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.

Jan. 30: The WHO declares the Coronavirus to be a ‘global health emergency.’ 

Feb. 1, 2020: Truck drivers set off to deliver food to the locked-down city of Wuhan. Banners around the city pop up and read: “Pull together in times of trouble, go Wuhan!”

Feb. 2: Outside of Wuhan the first man dies from the virus. Plans announced by the U.S. and Singapore ban foreign nationals to enter if they have recently traveled to China. The number of infections reaches over 14,000. Chinese stock market closes and markets begin to see fluctuations.

Feb. 3: Li Wenliang, a doctor that discovered the virus contracts it and dies. The promised 1,000-bed temporary hospital is built in Wuhan.

Feb. 7: Li Wenliang, a doctor that discovered the virus contracts it and dies. The promised 1,000-bed temporary hospital is built in Wuhan.

Feb. 12: 175 people were infected onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked at Yokohama, according to the Japanese health ministry.

Feb. 21: In mainland China, the death toll reached 2,236 and there are over 75,000 confirmed cases of infection. There is no vaccine for the Coronavirus as of now. “If we don’t run into any unforeseen obstacles, we’ll be able to get a Phase 1 trial going within the next three months,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.