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December 31 – China first reports to WHO a group of unusual pneumonia cases in Wuhan
January 4 – WHO tweeted about ‘a cluster of pneumonia cases’ in Wuhan with no deaths, saying investigations into the cause are underway
January 5 – The WHO issues its first guide on ‘pneumonia of unknown cause’, saying that there are a total of 44 patients and 11 in serious condition. The main symptom is listed as fever, with “some patients have difficulty breathing”. The WHO says that “there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission” and that “health worker infections have not been reported”
January 7th – China says it has identified the cause of pneumonia as a ‘new coronavirus’, initially named 2019-nCoV by the WHO
January 9th – WHO commends China for identifying the new virus “in a short space of time” and repeats its assessment that the virus “is not easily transmitted between people.” Also discourages travel or trade restrictions in China
January 13th – WHO says it is now working with authorities in Thailand after reports of a case there, and may convene a meeting of the Emergency Committee.
January 14 – WHO tweets say “there is no clear evidence of person-to-person transmission in China,” though he later clarifies and says that there may have been limited transmission through family members.
January 20-21 – WHO field team in China makes a brief field visit to the Wuhan epicenter
January 21st – The first case is confirmed on American soil in Washington, in a person who had traveled from China a week earlier.
Jan 22 – A report by the WHO team sent to Wuhan notes that “human-to-human” transmission is taking place, but says more research is needed to assess “full scope.” The report points to confirmed infections in 16 doctors, a clear sign of patient transmission.
The team recommends avoiding large gatherings, isolating infected people, and focusing on hand washing as the best way to combat the spread of the virus.
On the same day, that WHO Emergency Committee meets for the first time. Later, Dr. Tedros says he has spoken to the Chinese Minister of Health and praises the government for its “invaluable” efforts to stop the virus. He calls a second meeting for the following day.
January 23 – With the division of the Emergency Committee, Dr. Tedros says that he has decided not to declare the virus as a public health emergency of international interest. Referring to the Wuhan blockade, which was announced the same day, he says he hopes it “will be effective and short-lived.” Praises China’s ‘cooperation and transparency’ to fight virus
Dr. Tedros says there is limited evidence of person-to-person transmission, mainly between families or doctors who treat the virus. Right now, there are 584 confirmed cases and 17 deaths worldwide, including Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the US. USA
It recommends screening at airports and tells countries to set up test facilities, but does not recommend a travel ban.
January 28 – Dr. Tedros and other senior WHO officials meet with Xi Jinping in China and agree to send a panel of experts to control the outbreak. He praises “the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment of senior leadership and the transparency they have shown.”
January 29 – Dr. Tedros gives a speech praising China’s efforts to contain the virus, saying that the country “deserves our gratitude and respect” for closing areas of the country to prevent the spread.
He points to some cases of person-to-person spread outside of China, which he says are “of grave concern” and will be closely monitored.
Jan 30 – The WHO Emergency Committee meets early and declares a public health emergency of international concern. It comes after confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the US. USA
Dr. Tedros again praises China for “setting a new standard for outbreak response” with its blockades, saying that the small number of cases outside the country, 98, is “thanks to their efforts.”
Despite noting that most cases outside of China have a history of travel to or from Wuhan, he again recommends that no steps be taken to curb travel or international trade.
Jan 31 – Donald Trump announces travel restrictions for people coming from China
February 3rd – Dr. Tedros gives a speech to the WHO update on the coronavirus, saying that there are 17,238 cases in China and 361 deaths, although it is now an underestimate
Praises Xi Jinping for his individual leadership and insists that cases outside of China ‘can be handled’ if world authorities work together and follow recommendations including: not to ban travel or trade, support countries with health systems weak, invest in vaccines and diagnostics, fight disinformation and urgent reviews of emergency preparedness
February 7th – Dr. Li Wenliang, a doctor who first reported the existence of coronaviruses and was initially silenced by China, dies from the virus.
Feb. 10 – WHO team of experts comes to China to help with the outbreak
February 11th – The WHO names the disease caused by the COVID-19 virus, saying that it avoided including a geographical name because it runs the risk of ‘stigmatizing’ people. Says it won’t use the name SARS-CoV-2 because it risks causing ‘unnecessary fear’ by linking it to the 2003 SARS outbreak
February 12 – Dr. Tedros says that the number of new cases reported in China has ‘stabilized’ but adds that it must be ‘interpreted with extreme caution’ and that the outbreak ‘could still go in either direction’
February 16-24 – The WHO team of experts meets in China, visits affected sites and shares information on the best ways to deal with the crisis.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a daily press conference on COVID-19, the new coronavirus, at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
February 17th – Dr. Tedros begins chairing daily updates on the coronavirus response, and each briefing begins with an update on the number of infections, including from China, that recur without warnings.
He gave an analysis of Chinese data on about 44,000 confirmed cases. He says the data shows that 80 percent of cases are mild, 14 percent lead to serious illness, and 2 percent fatal. The disease is more severe in older people, with young people largely safe.
Calls on world leaders not to ‘waste’ a window of opportunity to get ahead of the virus and prevent it from spreading
26 of February – Donald Trump announces a dedicated coronavirus response team, which Mike Pence will lead
February 28th – The WHO expert team delivers its first report on the coronavirus. Among its main findings are that the disease probably originated from bats, that it is spread through close contact with infected people and not through the air, and that the most common symptoms include fever, dry cough and fatigue.
The report praises China’s response as “perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history”, saying blockades were achieved “due to the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action” and had achieved rapid decrease in cases
Sea 9 – All of Italy goes into blockade as the virus spreads, the first European nation to go into total blockade
Jan 11 – The WHO declares that the coronavirus is a pandemic, which means that it is spreading out of control in multiple parts of the world. At this point, cases have been reported in more than 100 countries.
Mar 13 – The WHO says Europe is now the new epicenter of the virus after cases rise sharply, and Dr. Tedros noted that more cases are now being reported each day than was reported in China at the height of its epidemic.
Apr 19 – China reports no new domestic coronavirus infections since pandemic started
Apr 20 – Dr. Tedros issues a warning that “young people are not invincible” to the virus after external data showed that large numbers of people under the age of 50 ended up in intensive care.
Mar 25 – When Donald Trump begins to promote hydroxychloroquine as a possible coronavirus treatment, the WHO warns that no drugs to treat the virus have been approved so far
The same day, the organization asks for an extra $ 2 billion in funds to help fight the virus.
Apr 3 – While millions of US citizens USA Unemployment subsidy signed, Dr. Tedros and IMF call for debt relief and social welfare to help people overcome pandemic
Apr 6 – The WHO updates its guide on masks to say that they are effective in stopping the spread of the virus, but they should be used in conjunction with other methods.
It comes after the CDC updated its guide to advise people to wear masks in public.
Apr 8 – After Trump’s first barrage of criticism of WHO, Dr. Tedros urges world leaders to ‘stop politicizing the pandemic’ unless they want ‘more body bags’
Apr 13 – A group of scientists convened by WHO to research a coronavirus vaccine issued a joint statement urging world leaders to continue to listen to the scientific community when responding to the virus.
