2019-nCoV Timeline: How the outbreak has unfolded

The 2019 novel coronavirus that appeared as a “mysterious illness” has claimed more than 900 lives, more than the fatalities of the last virus outbreak in 2002-2003, the SARS or the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Agence France Presse reported.
December 2019
It was in Wuhan, on Dec. 8, 2019 that the first new illness was documented.
By the end of December, China informs World Health Organization (WHO) of pneumonia cases in the city.
There were infections traced to the Wuhan market, which is known to sell various live animals.
January 2020
On January 7, Chinese officials say they have identified a new virus from the coronavirus family and called this 2019-nCoV.
The first death was announced in Wuhan on January 11.

After two days, Thailand reports its first case, which from Wuhan, which is also the first case outside China.
On January 16, Japan reports its first case, also from Wuhan.
Other countries reported confirmed 2019 nCoV cases in the following days, including Australia, France, and the United States.
On January 20, a national infectious disease expert in China confirms the illness can be transmitted between humans.

Wuhan City, now considered as epicenter of the virus, is quarantined and transport links cut.

As a precautionary measure, Beijing cancels events for the Lunar New Year with landmarks ordered closed.
First two deaths outside Hubei were reported.
On January 28, Germany and Japan announce the first two confirmed human-to-human transmissions outside China.
On January 29, the US and Japan are the first of several nations to start evacuating citizens from Wuhan.
Then, it was reported that a coronavirus has spread to the Middle East, in the United Arab Emirates.

Some international airlines suspend their China flights as foreign companies’ shutdown factories in China.
By January 30, the WHO declares a “public health emergency of international concern”.
Russia shuts its border with China and Italy declares a state of emergency.
February 2020
On February 2, Wenzhou is the second city in China that was placed under lockdown.
The Philippines reports the first coronavirus death outside China.

On February 4, Hong Kong reports the second death outside China.
On February 5, Hong Kong announces a two-week quarantine for travelers from the mainland. Its flagship carrier Cathay Pacific asks its entire workforce to take unpaid leave.
On February 7, a Chinese doctor – Li Wenliang – who was punished after raising the alarm in late December dies from the same coronavirus.

More than 60 people on a cruise ship off the Japanese coast have tested positive for the virus since the ship was quarantined two days earlier. There are around 3,700 people onboard.

In Hong Kong, 3,600 people are confined aboard another cruise ship, where eight former passengers have tested positive for the virus.
The WHO warns that the world is running out of masks and other protective equipment.
Over the weekend, Chinese scientists say the scaly mammal, the pangolin, may be the potential link for the virus.