CGTN: Charting the progress of COVID-19 pandemic

BEIJING,April 13,2020 -- As more countries take stringent measures to stem the spread of the disease,CGTN charts the progress of COVID-19 over the past months.

CGTN charts the progress of COVID-19 over the past months.

The discovery

Since early December,people in Wuhan had been falling ill with respiratory problems.

On December 27,2019,Zhang Jixian,head of a hospital's respiratory department in Hubei Province,reported a new contagious disease to health officials after treating patients with flu-like symptoms.

Three days later,lab results for a patient at Wuhan Central Hospital showed "SARS coronavirus". Dr. Ai Fen,the emergency department head,took a photo of the report,which soon circulated among Wuhan doctors.

Li Wenliang,an ophthalmologist,shared the photo with his former medical school classmates in a private WeChat group,alerting them to a "SARS-like" coronavirus.

On December 31,the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission issued a statement confirming 27 viral pneumonia cases tied to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market,which was shut down the next day.

Virus identified

Health authorities then identified a new strain of coronavirus as the cause of the unknown pneumonia by testing the genetic makeup of a virus sample obtained from an infected patient.

On January 11,Wuhan's health officials reported the first confirmed fatality stemming from the coronavirus – a 61-year-old man died of severe pneumonia on January 9,who was a regular customer of the Huanan Seafood Market.

Meanwhile,more infected cases were popping up.

At the peak of the annual holiday travel rush,Chinese authorities ordered a lockdown on Wuhan,Hubei's capital with a population of 11 million.

The lockdown was then extended to a dozen cities in Hubei Province.

A global emergency

On January 30,the WHO declared the novel coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

In the following days,many countries limited or barred the entry of Chinese nationals,suspending inbound flights and imposing strict travel restrictions.

Within a short span of time,France announced the first death from the coronavirus in Europe,while South Korea reported a cluster of over 1,600 infections linked to a church in Daegu. All signs pointed to a coming global outbreak.

For details,please visit https://news.cgtn.com/event/2020/The-Pandemic/index.html?utm_source=bluef&utm_medium=CgtnWebsiteCampaign&utm_campaign=pandemic

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