Cover photo

COVID-19 Timeline

By John Theisen
  • First Case of COVID-19

    First Case of COVID-19

    The first suspected case of COVID-19 dates back to November 17, 2019. The virus affected a 55-year-old individual from the Hubei province in China. The image below shows what the coronavirus looks like under a microscope.
  • COVID-19 Classified as a Threat

    COVID-19 Classified as a Threat

    Wuhan health officials are told that a new coronavirus is causing the illness in the recent cases. Soo, top doctors and directors begin posting new information about the virus. The picture shows a hospital in Wuhan, China.
  • First Case in France

    First Case in France

    A patient treated in a hospital near Paris, France was at first thought to have had pneumonia. The patient has since recovered, but recent testing confirms they had actually tested positive for having the coronavirus.
  • China tells WHO

    China tells WHO

    After Wuhan health officials confirmed 27 cases related to the illness, China tells the World Health Organizations's China office about the cases of the unknown illness.
  • First Death in Wuhan

    First Death in Wuhan

    On the evening of January 9th, a 61-year-old man dies of heart failure after purchasing goods from the seafood market. Three days later China announces this first death from the virus.
  • China tells the U.S.

    China tells the U.S.

    The Chinese state media reports the first death from an unusual case of coronavirus. The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission issued a notice on the morning of the 11th of an "unexplained viral pneumonia" as a new coronavirus.
  • First Case Outside of Wuhan

    First Case Outside of Wuhan

    Officials confirm a case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China.
  • First Case in Japan

    First Case in Japan

    A resident of Kanagawa Prefecture who had returned from Wuhan, China was confirmed to have the coronavirus on January 16th.
  • First Case in the U.S.

    First Case in the U.S.

    A man in his 30s, who had just returned from a trip to Wuhan, is diagnosed and treated at a hospital in Washington state.
  • First Case in Taiwan

    First Case in Taiwan

    A 50-year-old woman who had just returned to Taoyuan International Airport and who had been teaching in Wuhan, China is confirmed to have the virus
  • First Case in Vietnam

    First Case in Vietnam

    A father and son were hospitalized and treated in a quarantined area on January 22nd at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. The disease was confirmed the next day.
  • First Case in Germany

    First Case in Germany

    The COVID-19 pandemic spread to Germany on January 27th when the first case was confirmed in Munich, Bavaria. The first cases came from the same automobile parts manufacture.
  • First Case in Canada

    First Case in Canada

    The coronavirus is confirmed to have reached Canada on January 27th, after a man returned to Toronto from Wuhan, China.
  • First Case in U.K.

    First Case in U.K.

    Two Chinese nationals who were guests at the Staycity apartment in York, a city in England, tested positive for the coronavirus.
  • First Case in Italy

    First Case in Italy

    COVID-19 was first confirmed to have spread to Italy on January 31, 2020, after two Chinese tourists tested positive for the virus in Rome, Italy.
  • First Case in Russia

    First Case in Russia

    Two Chinese tourists test positive for the virus in Tyumen, Siberia and Chita, Russian far East.
  • First Death in Italy

    First Death in Italy

    A retired 78-year-old Italian builder became the first person in Europe to die from the coronavirus.
  • First Death in U.S.

    First Death in U.S.

    In Washington state, the first death from COVID-19 in the U.S. is confirmed on February 29th. It is later discovered that two deaths that occurred on February 26th at a nearby nursing home would later be recorded as the actual first deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.
  • First Cases in CO

    First Cases in CO

    The first two cases of coronavirus in the state of CO were confirmed on March 5th. The first was a man in his 30s visiting Summit County and the second was an elderly woman in Douglas County.
  • First Death in CO

    First Death in CO

    On March 13th, CO reports its first COVID-19 related death. An 80-year-old woman with underlying health issues dies from the coronavirus in El Paso County.
  • Map of the Spread World Wide

    Map of the Spread World Wide

    With over 4,531,811 confirmed cases and 307,001 deaths worldwide, the virus has spread to nearly every continent and the numbers continue to rise. (as of May 15th, 2020)