Coronavirus: A timeline of how the new Sars-like virus developed

Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on Jan 18, 2020. PHOTO: AFP

PARIS (AFP) - A new coronavirus, a mysterious Sars-like disease, has spread around China and three other Asian countries since first emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

Here's a timeline of how the virus developed:

DEC 31, 2019: ALARM RAISED

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is alerted on Dec 31, 2019, by the Chinese authorities of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people.

Patients are quarantined and work begins on identifying the origin of the pneumonia.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies a seafood market suspected to be at the centre of the outbreak. It is closed on Jan 1, 2020.

JAN 9, 2020: NEW CORONAVIRUS

On Jan 9, the WHO says that the outbreak in Wuhan was caused by a previously unknown type of coronavirus, which is a broad family ranging from the common cold to more serious illnesses like Sars.

To date, 59 people have been infected, of whom seven are in a serious condition, according to an official toll.

JAN 11: FIRST DEATH

The Chinese health authorities say a first person died of the virus on Jan 11. They revise downwards the number of sick people to 41.

JAN 13-16: SPREADS BEYOND CHINA

On Jan 13, the virus spreads beyond China's borders for the first time, with a case emerging in Thailand, according to the WHO. The victim is a Chinese woman diagnosed with mild pneumonia who was returning from a trip to Wuhan.

On Jan 15, China's health commission says no human-to-human transmission of the virus behind the Wuhan outbreak has been confirmed so far, but the possibility "cannot be excluded".

The next day, a first case of the virus is confirmed in Japan in someone who had stayed in Wuhan in early January.

JAN 17: U.S. CONTROLS

On Jan 17, a second person, a 69-year-old man, dies in Wuhan, according to the authorities.

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The same day, the CDC announces that it will begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan at three airports: San Francisco, New York's JFK and Los Angeles.

JAN 20: HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION CONFIRMED

On Jan 20, a third death and more than 100 new cases are announced in China, sparking concerns ahead of the annual Chinese New Year holiday which begins on Jan 25 and sees hundreds of millions of Chinese people travel nationwide.

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When The Straits Times visited Wuhan on Jan 10, 2020, residents in the central Chinese city appeared unperturbed by the mysterious viral outbreak. The Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market is believed to be the epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic.

The virus is present in Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and Shenzhen in the south. More than 200 cases have been recorded. The virus is also detected in South Korea in a Chinese person who arrived by plane from Wuhan.

China's President Xi Jinping says that the virus must be "resolutely contained", in his first public comments on the outbreak.

Human-to-human transmission is "affirmative", a top Chinese expert on infectious diseases Zhong Nanshan tells state broadcaster CCTV.

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