Timeline of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 – COVID-19 Pandemic

Saturday, January 30, 2021 @ 9:05 pm by admin

It was exactly one year ago, January 30, 2020, when the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Since then, the Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 tremendously devastated the whole world.

Vaccines may be available now but vaccination will take long as the supply is not enough with such high demand.

Timeline

December 31, 2019

A pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in China on 31 December 2019.

Jan 30, 2020

World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020.

February 11, 2020

World Health Organization (WHO) announced a name for the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, on 11 February 2020.

The New Coronavirus was called nCov19 or nCov2019 for Novel Coronavirus 2019 before it was renamed into COVID-19 for Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Mar 11, 2020

World Health Organization (WHO) announced the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

Sources:

Pneumonia of unknown cause reported to WHO China Office

31 December 2019

At the close of 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of a pneumonia of unknown cause, detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China. According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market.

Staying in close contact with national authorities, WHO began monitoring the situation and requested further information on the laboratory tests performed and the different diagnoses considered.

WHO responding to a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan

4 January 2020

WHO announced it would work across its 3 levels – country office, regional office and HQ – to track the situation and share details as they emerged.

Twitter

#China has reported to WHO a cluster of #pneumonia cases —with no deaths— in Wuhan, Hubei Province ?? . Investigations are underway to identify the cause of this illness.

World Health Organization (Verified Twitter Account)
@WHO
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1213523866703814656

WHO reports on pneumonia of unknown cause in China

5 January 2020

WHO published its risk assessment and advice and reported on the status of patients and the public health response by national authorities to the cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan.

Pneumonia of unknown cause – China

Disease outbreak news
5 January 2020

On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.

The causal agent has not yet been identified or confirmed. On 1 January 2020, WHO requested further information from national authorities to assess the risk.

National authorities report that all patients are isolated and receiving treatment in Wuhan medical institutions. The clinical signs and symptoms are mainly fever, with a few patients having difficulty in breathing, and chest radiographs showing invasive lesions of both lungs.

According to the authorities, some patients were operating dealers or vendors in the Huanan Seafood market. Based on the preliminary information from the Chinese investigation team, no evidence of significant human-to-human transmission and no health care worker infections have been reported.

Public Health Response

National authorities have reported the following response measures:

One hundred and twenty-one close contacts have been identified and are under medical observation;
The follow-up of close contacts is ongoing;
Pathogen identification and the tracing of the cause are underway;
Wuhan Municipal Health Commission carried out active case finding, and retrospective investigations have been completed;
Environmental sanitation and further hygiene investigations are under way.
WHO is closely monitoring the situation and is in close contact with national authorities in China.

WHO risk assessment

There is limited information to determine the overall risk of this reported cluster of pneumonia of unknown etiology. The reported link to a wholesale fish and live animal market could indicate an exposure link to animals. The symptoms reported among the patients are common to several respiratory diseases, and pneumonia is common in the winter season; however, the occurrence of 44 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization clustered in space and time should be handled prudently.

Wuhan city, with a population of 19 million, is the capital city of Hubei province, with a population of 58 million people. WHO has requested further information on the laboratory tests performed and the differential diagnoses considered.

WHO advice

Based on information provided by national authorities, WHO’s recommendations on public health measures and surveillance of influenza and severe acute respiratory infections still apply.

WHO does not recommend any specific measures for travellers. In case of symptoms suggestive of respiratory illness either during or after travel, travellers are encouraged to seek medical attention and share travel history with their healthcare provider.

WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on China based on the current information available on this event.

https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/en/

WHO issues its first guidance on the novel coronavirus

10 January 2020

Developed with reference to other coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, WHO issued a tool for countries to check their ability to detect and respond to a novel coronavirus.

This information is to help with identifying main gaps, assessing risks and planning for additional investigations, response and control actions.

Overview

The main aim of the national capacities review tool is to better understand existing capacities in the area of detection and response to a novel coronavirus (nCoV) that is zoonotic and causes respiratory disease. The tool was developed with other coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, in mind and in consultation with member states. This information will help national authorities to i) identify main gaps ii) perform risk assessments and iii) plan for additional investigations, response and control actions.

https://www.who.int/publications-detail/national-capacities-review-tool-for-a-novelcoronavirus

First case of novel coronavirus outside of China confirmed

13 January 2020

Officials confirmed a case of the novel coronavirus in Thailand. It was not unexpected that cases of the novel coronavirus would emerge outside of China and reinforces why WHO calls for active monitoring and preparedness in other countries.

WHO statement on novel coronavirus in Thailand

13 January 2020 News release

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with officials in Thailand and China following reports of confirmation of the novel coronavirus in a person in Thailand.

The person was a traveler from Wuhan, China, and was identified by Thai officials on 8 January, and hospitalized that day. The person is recovering from the illness according to Thai officials.

The possibility of cases being identified in other countries was not unexpected, and reinforces why WHO calls for on-going active monitoring and preparedness in other countries. WHO has issued guidance on how to detect and treat persons ill with the new virus.

The genetic sequencing shared by China enables more countries to rapidly diagnose patients.

WHO reiterates that it is essential that investigations continue in China to identify the source of this outbreak and any animal reservoirs or intermediate hosts.

Given developments, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will consult with Emergency Committee members and could call for a meeting of the committee on short notice.

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-01-2020-who-statement-on-novel-coronavirus-in-thailand

Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared

30 January 2020

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, following a second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations.

Acknowledging that cases have been reported in five WHO regions in one month, the Committee noted that early detection, isolating and treating cases, contact tracing and social distancing measures – in line with the level of risk – can all work to interrupt virus spread.

Statement on the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

30 January 2020 Statement Geneva, Switzerland

The second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the People’s Republic of China, with exportations to other countries, took place on Thursday, 30 January 2020, from 13:30 to 18:35 Geneva time (CEST). The Committee’s role is to give advice to the Director-General, who makes the final decision on the determination of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Committee also provides public health advice or suggests formal Temporary Recommendations as appropriate.

Read more
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov)

Novel coronavirus disease named COVID-19

11 February 2020

Guidelines mandated that the name of the disease could not refer to a geographical location, an animal, an individual or group of people. It also needed to relate to the disease and be pronounceable. This choice will help guard against the use of other names that might be inaccurate or stigmatizing.

Twitter

? BREAKING ?

"We now have a name for the #2019nCoV disease:

COVID-19.

I’ll spell it: C-O-V-I-D hyphen one nine – COVID-19"


@DrTedros
#COVID19

World Health Organization (Verified Twitter Account)
@WHO
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1227248333871173632

WHO characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic

11 March 2020

Speaking at the COVID-19 media briefing, the WHO Director-General said:

"WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.

Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn’t change what WHO is doing, and it doesn’t change what countries should do.

We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.

And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time."

https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19—11-march-2020

Twitter

? BREAKING ?

"We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic"-
@DrTedros
#coronavirus

World Health Organization (Verified Twitter Account)
@WHO
https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1237777021742338049

Source:

World Health Organization
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

Timeline COVID-19

Taal Volcano Erupted

Sunday, January 12, 2020 @ 4:55 pm by admin

Taal Volcano erupted on January 12, 2020, Sunday at around 1:00 PM in the Philippines.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert status of Taal Volcano from Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest) to Alert Level 4 (hazardous eruption imminent) at around 7:30 PM.

According to the Website of PHIVOLCS-DOST, before Taal Volcano erupted, Taal Volcano’s seismic monitoring network recorded 62 volcanic earthquakes during the 24-hour observation period on January 11, 2020.

Furthermore at the Website, Taal Volcano’s seismic monitoring network recorded between 21 and 62 volcanic earthquakes during the 24-hour observation period for more than one week already, since the beginning of the year, from January 01, 2020 to January 11, 2020. Last year, on December 30, 2019, it recorded 85 volcanic earthquakes.

Alert Level 1 has been in effect over Taal Volcano during those dates as sudden steam explosions may occur. The public was reminded that the entire Volcano Island is a Permanent Danger Zone.

Source: TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 12 January 2020 07:30 PM

More:
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN (UPDATE) 12 JANUARY 2020 04:00 PM
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 12 JANUARY 2020 02:30 PM
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 12 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 11 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 10 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN: 09 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN: 08 JANUARY 2020 08:00 A.M.
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TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 06 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
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TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN: 04 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 03 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 02 JANUARY 2020 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN: 01 JANUARY 2020 08:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN 31 DECEMBER 2019 8:00 A.M.
TAAL VOLCANO BULLETIN: 30 DECEMBER 2019 8:00 A.M.

Plane carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense Soccer Team crashed in Colombia

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 @ 1:52 pm by admin

According to a report at the NBC News, a LaMia plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashed in Colombia at around 10:00 PM European Time on Monday, November 28, 2016.

It was either due to poor weather conditions or electrical problems but there was another reported testimony which still need to be evaluated by the investigators.

Five (5) people survived and 76 others got killed at the plane crash in Colombia.

Chapecoense is a professional soccer team from Chapeco, Brazil, which joined Brazil’s first division in 2014, and made it to the Copa Sudamericana finals last week.

Read the full story with video, Plane Carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense Soccer Team Crashes in Colombia, at the NBC News site.

Ohio State University Campus Shooting in Columbus

Tuesday, November 29, 2016 @ 12:11 pm by admin

According to a report from the Washington Post, about nine (9) to eleven (11) people were sent to a hospital when a student from Ohio State University attacked people at the campus in Columbus, Ohio on November 28, 2016.

Read the full story with video, Ohio State student identified as campus attacker, nearly a dozen hospitalized, at The Washington Post site.

Typhoon Bopha Typhoon Pablo hit Philippines, killed more than 250 people

Wednesday, December 5, 2012 @ 11:28 pm by admin

As of today, reports say that more than 250 people got killed by Typhoon Bopha locally known as Typhoon Pablo and damaged more than 2,900 homes in Mindanao in the Philippines.

Read the full story with video, Rescuers struggle to aid Philippines storm victims, at the CNN site.
Read the full story with video, Philippines: Typhoon Bopha death toll rises, at the BBC site.
Read the full story with video, Philippines death toll rises in Typhoon Bopha, at the Deustche Welle site.
Read the full story, ‘Pablo’ Kills At Least 254, at the Manila Bulletin site.

For donations, please visit the Philippine Red Cross!

According to Philippine Red Cross, "Local chapters in affected areas set up first aid stations and welfare desks in 71 evacuation centers and provided hotmeals to displaced families."

Read the full story, Red Cross in full swing as Typhoon Pablo made landfall, at the Philippine Red Cross site.

Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 @ 11:58 pm by admin

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine "Kate" Middleton got married on April 29, 2011 at the Westminster Abbey in London, England. After the wedding, Kate Middleton became the Duchess of Cambridge.

One and a half years later, the Duchess of Cambridge got pregnant but we only got to know about it yesterday because the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge value their privacy so much. She was like forced to announce her pregnancy for medical reasons and for the public to know as well. She has an acute morning sickness which requires best medical care.

With the pregnancy of the Duchess of Cambridge, a new legislation that was already agreed in principle in 2011 will also be introduced at the House of Commons regarding the change to the royal succession rules that whether the first child of the royal couple is a boy or a girl, the child will succeed the British throne after Prince William.

Read the full story with video, Pregnancy and privacy: Royal Catherine’s dilemma, at the CNN site.
Read the full story with video, Consent given for change to royal succession rules, at the BBC site.
Read the full story with video, Kate Middleton, Like Princess Diana, Expected to Skip Palace Birth, at the ABC News site.
Read the full story with video, Duchess Kate "continuing to feel better," palace says, at the CBS News site.
Read the full story with video, Duchess of Cambridge ‘feeling better’ palace says, at The Telegraph site.

Gaza-Israel ceasefire

Monday, December 3, 2012 @ 10:22 pm by admin

A ceasefire was agreed at around 19:00 on November 21, 2012 over the Israel-Gaza violence but with the upgraded status of the Palestinians to a "non-member observer state" during the United Nations General Assembly on November 29, 2012, Israel is not taking it lightly.

According to BBC News Middle East, "Israel angrily condemned the Palestinian move as a "gross violation" of previous agreements."

As a response somehow, Israel wants to build new settlements in East Jerusalem and West Bank. Palestinians strongly oppose the plans.

What will happen to the agreed ceasefire now that there are new conflicts?

Read the full story, Israel settlements: Netanyahu defies outcry over E-1, at the BBC site.
Read the full story with video, As it happened: Gaza-Israel violence, at the BBC site.
Read the full story with video, After Israel-Gaza: Who won, who lost?, at the CNN site.
Read the Q&A: Palestinians’ upgraded UN status, at the BBC site.

Syria crisis

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 @ 9:56 pm by admin

There is an ongoing civil war in Syria. The civil war in Syria between the rebels and the government has already caused so many people’s lives.

Recently, twin car bombs have exploded in Jaramana, a town near Damascus.

According to BBC News Middle East, "At least 34 people are reported to have been killed and many injured by two car bomb explosions in a south-eastern district of Syria’s capital, Damascus."

Read the full story, Syrian rebels down jet, take video of bloodied pilot, at the CNN site.
Read the full story, Syria conflict: Twin bomb blasts shake Damascus suburb, at the BBC site.
Read the full story, Twin Car Bombs Near Damascus Kill 34, at the ABC News site.
Read the full story, A rare and dangerous look into battle-ravaged Syria, at the CBS News site.

Protest against Egypt President Mohammed Mursi

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 @ 9:58 am by admin

People in Egypt have been protesting in Cairo against the Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi for granting himself sweeping new powers.

Protesters said that they do not want another regime of dictatorship like that of the ousted President Hosni Mubarak whom Mohammed Mursi succeeded.

People have been demanding the Egyptian President to withdraw the president’s decree or the constitutional declaration.

The constitutional constitution says that no authority could revoke the President’s decisions.

Read the full story with video, Egypt crisis: Mass rally held against Mohammed Mursi, at the BBC site.
Read the full story with video, Protesters to Morsy: Roll back your decree or leave, at the CNN site.

Israel-Gaza Conflict

Wednesday, November 21, 2012 @ 11:53 am by admin

According to BBC News in the Middle East, "Israel launched its military offensive against Gaza on 14 November, marking the latest eruption in a conflict with Palestinian militants which has raged between the two sides for years. The latest violence has left dozens of people dead, many of them civilians, and shows no sign of ending soon."

The residents of Gaza are confused and desperate to escape seeking refuge from one full shelter to another in order to stay alive.

CNN Video Link

Read the full story with videos, Calm elusive as rockets rain in Gaza, Israel, at the CNN site.
Read Q&A: Israel-Gaza violence, at the BBC site.