A complete timeline of the
coronavirus pandemic
December 31, 2019
Chinese Health officials inform the WHO about a cluster of 41 patients with a mysterious pneumonia. Most are connected to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.
January 1, 2020
Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market closes.
January 7, 2020
Chinese authorities identify the virus that caused the pneumonia-like illness as a new type of coronavirus (called novel coronavirus or nCoV).
January 11, 2020
China records its first death linked to the novel coronavirus. Chinese researchers also published the virus' genetic sequence.
January 13, 2020
Thailand reports the first coronavirus infection outside of China.
January 20, 2020
The first US case is reported: a 35-year-old man in Snohomish County, Washington.
January 23, 2020
Chinese authorities place the city of Wuhan under quarantine — and the rest of the Hubei province days later.
January 30, 2020
WHO declares a global public-health emergency.
February 2, 2020
The first coronavirus death outside
China is recorded in the Philippines.
February 11, 2020
WHO announces that the disease caused by the novel coronavirus will be called "COVID-19."
February 21, 2020
COVID-19 cases start to spike in Italy.
March 8, 2020
Italy places all 60 million of its residents on lockdown.
February 7, 2020
Chinese doctor and coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang dies.
January 31, 2020
President Trump bans foreign nationals from entering the US if they had been in China within the prior two weeks.
March 11, 2020
WHO declares the outbreak a pandemic.
March 11, 2020
President Trump bans all travel from 26 European countries.
March 19, 2020
China reports no new locally spread infections for the first time since the pandemic began.
March 13, 2020
Trump declares a national emergency in the US.
March 23, 2020
New York City confirms 21,000 cases, making it the epicenter of the outbreak in the US.
March 30, 2020
Iran records 3,186 new daily cases, the peak of its first wave.
March 31, 2020
More than 1/3 of humanity is under some form of lockdown.
April 7, 2020
Roughly 95% of all Americans are under lockdown, as 42 states issue stay-at-home orders.
April 2, 2020
The world passes 1 million COVID-19 infections.
April 10, 2020
The global death toll surpasses 100,000.
April 14, 2020
President Donald Trump orders a halt on $400 million in funding for the World Health Organization.
Updated as of December 24, 2020.
May 21, 2020
The number of global COVID-19 cases surpasses 5 million.
May 11, 2020
Several countries, such as Spain, Iran, Italy, Denmark, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, and Thailand, begin to ease their lockdown restrictions.
February 6, 2020
A person in California dies from the coronavirus, the first known American death.
April 24, 2020
Coronavirus cases start to spike in Brazil.
May 16, 2020
Coronavirus cases surge in India.
September 2, 2020
The WHO strongly recommends steroids for seriously ill COVID-19 patients.
September 22, 2020
US deaths from COVID-19 top 200,000.
September 28, 2020
Global deaths surpass 1 million.
October 2, 2020
President Trump announces he'd tested positive for COVID-19.
October 23, 2020
The US enters its third surge of coronavirus cases, the beginning of its deadliest phase yet.
November 9, 2020
Global cases top 50 million.
December 18, 2020
The FDA authorizes Moderna's
COVID-19 vaccine.
December 2, 2020
The UK authorizes Pfizer and BioNtech's vaccine.
December 11, 2020
The FDA authorizes Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine.
November 17, 2019
A person displayed the first detectable case of COVID-19 in China.
March 21, 2020
Italy sees the peak of its first wave, with 6,557 new cases of COVID-19 in a day.
March 26, 2020
Total confirmed cases in the US reach 82,404 — the highest in the world — surpassing China's 81,782 and Italy's 80,589.
June 28, 2020
The number of global COVID-19 cases surpass 10 million, and global deaths surpass 500,000.
July 7, 2020
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announces he'd tested positive for COVID-19.