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A third-year medical student from the University of St. Andrews, in full personal protective equipment, completes a partner’s lateral flow COVID-19 test at a mass testing facility set up in the University sports hall. in St. Andrews, eastern Scotland, in November. February 27, 2020, to determine if students can travel home over the Christmas break. (Photo by Andy Buchanan / AFP)
PARIS, France – From the first cases in central China to hopes for a vaccine a year later, here are a dozen key developments in the spread and subsequent fight against COVID-19.
– First death –
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) receives an alert about a group of cases of pneumonia “of unknown cause” in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
On January 7, 2020, a new coronavirus is identified. Four days later, China announces its first death in Wuhan from an illness to be called COVID-19.
– Wuhan cut –
On January 23, Wuhan is quarantined and isolated from the world. Countries begin to repatriate their citizens from China.
Students attend the 100th anniversary of the founding of Wuhan High School on the first day of the new semester in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province, on Sept. 1, 2020 (Photo by STR / AFP).
On February 15, France reports the first confirmed death outside Asia of a Chinese tourist.
– ‘Pandemic’ –
As of March 6, more than 100,000 cases had been registered worldwide.
Northern Italy is on lockdown, quickly followed by the rest of the country.
On March 11, the WHO says COVID-19 is a pandemic.
Fall of world stock markets.
Governments and central banks implement massive economic support measures.
– Europe locked up –
Spain (March 14) and France (March 17) order their populations to stay at home. Germany and Great Britain say that people should avoid all social contact. The 27-nation European Union closes its external borders.
– Olympic Games postponed –
On March 24, the Tokyo Summer Olympics scheduled for July 2020 are postponed to next year.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (AFP via The Straits Times / Asia News Network)
The next day, the United Nations warns that the pandemic is “threatening all of humanity.”
– Middle of the world confined –
Blocking measures apply worldwide.
On April 2, more than 3.9 billion people, half of the world’s population, are forced or called into confinement, according to an AFP count. On the same day the threshold of one million cases is crossed.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is infected and ends up in intensive care.
– Economy on its knees –
On April 29, the battered US aircraft manufacturer Boeing cuts 16,000 jobs.
It is followed by many other groups, including airlines and automakers.
– Hydroxychloroquine row –
Endorsed by US President Donald Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, is considered to have no benefit in a study published in The Lancet on May 22.
(FILES) This file photo taken on May 20, 2020 shows a bottle and tablets of hydroxychloroquine sitting on a counter at Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah. – On June 15, 2020, the United States withdrew emergency use authorizations for two coronavirus treatments favored by President Donald Trump, citing their lack of efficacy and safety concerns. “It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ (hydroxychloroquine) and CQ (chloroquine) can be effective in treating COVID-19,” wrote Denise Hinton, chief scientist for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a letter. . (Photo by GEORGE FREY / AFP)
The study is retracted due to problems with the data, but on June 5 a British research group also concluded that the drug did not help COVID-19 patients at all.
– Surge in Latin America –
By June 7, the death toll reaches more than 400,000.
The increase in cases and deaths in Latin America is cause for concern.
Brazil becomes the second country with the highest number of deaths after the United States. Its president Jair Bolsonaro calls it a “little flu”, before he himself becomes infected. COVID-19 skeptic Donald Trump will get it too.
– Masks and anti-masks –
With cases on the rise, several European countries make wearing masks mandatory on public transport, in schools and shops, and on the street, starting with the Czech Republic on March 18.
Demonstrations against masks are organized in Berlin, London, Paris and Rome.
– Second wave –
The grim milestone of one million deaths worldwide is passed on September 28. In October, infections start to grow in Europe, where many countries order new closures and curfews.
The pandemic is also accelerating in the United States, where its management has become a key issue in the presidential campaign.
– Vaccine hopes –
On November 9, the American biotech giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech released the positive results of a vaccine, as the number of official cases exceeds 50 million.
This illustration photograph taken in Paris on November 23, 2020 shows a syringe and vial that reads “Covid-19 Vaccine” alongside the AstraZeneca company and Oxford University logos. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP)
A week later, a similar announcement arrives from the American firm Moderna, with a vaccine from AstraZeneca-Oxford University quickly following. Authorities hope to begin vaccination campaigns by the end of the year in the US and parts of Europe.
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