CORONAVIRUS has surged across the globe like wildfire with scores of new cases recorded daily, as infections rapidly rip across the globe.
Here are the locations that the virulent bug’s deadly tentacles have spread to.
Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates on Covid-19
Which countries have the most cases of coronavirus?
According to John Hopkins University, there are currently nearly 200,000 cases of coronavirus globally, although this statistic only reflects the numbers of patients who have been tested.
And so far more than 8,000 people have died from the virus.
However, about 82,000 of those diagnosed with the virus have recovered.
The outbreak of the killer bug began in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province in China and is linked to a wildlife market there. It is thought the virus mutated here from one affecting an animal species to one that can infect humans.
What has happened so far?
2020
March
- March 18: The European Union to ban all travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days
- March 17: UK Government announces staggering £350bn industry bail out fund plus £330bn in loans to British companies and more if needed
- March 17: Italy’s death toll surged by 345 to 2,503, a jum of 16 per cent, said the Civil Protection Agency.
- March 16: Australia declares human biosecurity emergency
- March 17: UK actor and musician Idris Elba tested positive
- March 15: The UK government plans to isolate people aged above 70 and those at higher risk for four months
- March 14: Trump declared a national emergency and released $50bn in federal aid
- March 12: The NBA suspended its entire season after one player tested positive for coronavirus
- March 11: US President Donald Trump banned travel from the Shengen Area in Europe
- March 11: In a major milestone for the crisis, the World Health Organisation officially declared the situation a pandemic
- March 10: Cases spiked across Europe with France, Germany and Spain all passing 1,000 as Ireland cancelled St Patrick’s Day parades
- March 9: Britain said that anyone returning from northern Italy’s locked-down areas must self-isolate for 14 days to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
- March 9: The new virus has caused major economic disruptions, including in global aviation, which has helped slow demand for oil.
- March 9: Three people have now died in the UK from the coronavirus.
- March 7: UK coronavirus cases rise to 206 as 42 more test positive for killer bug
- March 7: Malta confirms its first case of coronavirus, a 12-year-old Italian girl who lives on the island.
- March 7: A cruise ship on Egypt’s Nile River with over 150 tourists and local crew quarantined in Luxor with 12 people testing positive.
- March 7: 21 of 3,500 passengers on board the Grand Princess have tested positive with the ship docked in San Francisco.
- March 6: Northampton General Hospital reports that visitors are stealing hand sanitiser gel from patients beds and “ripping” units from walls.
- March 5: England’s Six Nations clash in Italy is cancelled. Second Brit dies of the virus in Berkshire, an 88-year-old man at a hospital in Milton Keynes.
- March 4: 2,300 passengers quarantined on another cruise ship – MSC Opera – off Greece after tourist catches killer bug
- March 2: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has warned that the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak could cut global economic growth in half and plunge several countries into a recession this year.
- March 2: Boris Johnson is joined by cabinet ministers for a Cobra national security committee meeting on the coronavirus.
- March 2: Nike will close its European headquarters in the Netherlands on Monday and Tuesday after an employee was infected with the virus. Roughly 2,000 employees from 80 different countries work in the building.
- March 1: Italy announced that infections have risen by 40% in the country to 1,576. The country also confirmed that the deaths of infected people has risen to 34, according to AP. Football star Cristiano Ronaldo was also caught up in the coronavirus scare in the country.
- March 1: A coughing Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered for the traditional Sunday blessing that he is cancelling his participation at a week-long spiritual retreat in the Roman countryside because of a cold.
- March 1: Twelve more people test positive for coronavirus in the UK – bringing the total number of cases to 35.
February
- February 28: Further three coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK as British man dies after contracting coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
- February 27: Chief Medical Officer for England Chris Witty warns schools could be shut for two months if coronavirus becomes a pandemic.
- February 26: Two London offices evacuated after an employee returned from a foreign trip with flu-like symptoms.
- February 25: Italy confirms its first case of coronavirus in the south, meanwhile Iran’s deputy health minister is struck down by the virus.
- February 24: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Afghanistan and Oman report their first cases of coronavirus.
- February 23: Venice carnival and sports events halted in Italy as officials confirmed third death.
- February 22: South Korea sees largest spike in one day with 229 new cases of coronavirus.
- February 21: Infection begins in Lombardy, Italy, with three new cases.
- February 20: First South Korean coronavirus death.
- February 19: Iran reports two deaths from the killer bug just hours after confirming first cases.
- February 18: Russia bans entry for Chinese citizens.
- February 17: China confrimes 99 new cases aboard quarantined Diamond Princess cruise.
- February 16: Taiwan sees first death from coronavirus.
- February 15: US prepares to evacuate citizens from quarantined Diamond Princess.
- February 14: Egypt confirms first case, making it the first African case, and France reports first coronavirus death in Europe.
- February 13: North Korea imposes month-long quarantine on all foreign visitors.
- February 12: 175 infected aboard Diamond Princess cruise.
- February 11: World Health Organisation names bug “Covid-19“.
- February 10: Chinese President Xi Jinping appears in public for the first time since the outbreak.
- February 9: Chinese death toll surpasses Sars epidemic.
- February 8: US citizen dies in Wuhan.
- February 7: Coronavirus “whistleblower doctor, Li Wenliang dies from virus, meanwhile Hong Kong imposes prison sentences for anyone breaching quarantine.
- February 6: Malaysia reports country’s first human-to-human transmission.
- February 5: World Health Organisation confirms there is “no known effective treatment” for the virus.
- February 4: First case confirmed in Belgium.
- February 3: China reported 57 new deaths, bringing its death toll to 361.
- February 2: The first death from coronavirus outside China is confirmed in the Philippines, and the total number of suspected cases nears 20,000.
- February 1: US denies entry to foreign nationals who have visited China in the last two weeks. Chinese authorities announce that 243 patients have been discharged after recovering from the virus.
January
- January 31: The death toll reaches 200, and the NHS confirms the first two cases in the UK.
- January 30: Russia closes its 2,700 mile border with China as the number of affected countries hits 23.
- January 29: UK government announces plans to evacuate British citizens from Wuhan. British Airways suspends all direct flights to and from mainland China.
- January 28: The death toll reaches 100, with nearly 7,000 suspected cases. Japan, Taiwan and Germany confirm that the virus has spread domestically.
- January 26: As the death toll reaches 50, the French and US governments announce they will evacuate all citizens from Wuhan in the coming days.
- January 25: Canada and Nepal report their first cases.
- January 24: In response to a growing number of infected people in Wuhan, Chinese officials order the emergency building of two new hospitals. They are set to open this week.
- January 23: Chinese government suspends travel in and out of Wuhan, which has a population of over 10 million people, and Beijing cancels Chinese New Year celebrations to contain the spread of the virus.
- January 21: The US and Australia both confirm their first coronavirus case. Scientists from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) begin work on a vaccine.
- January 17: The US begins airport health checks on all travellers from Wuhan, as China reports that the virus has killed a 69-year-old man from the city.
- January 13: Officials in Thailand and Japan announce they have confirmed cases, and begin to screen anyone arriving from Wuhan.
- January 9: The first death from the virus is confirmed in Wuhan. The patient is a 61-year-old man who was admitted to hospital on December 27.
- January 7: Chinese authorities say they have isolated the virus. They announce that it belongs to the coronavirus family, which typically spread via airborne droplets of fluid from infected individuals.
- January 6: Investigations by Chinese officials rule out the virus being bird flu, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS).
- January 1: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies the Huanan Seafood Market, known for selling exotic meats like snake and porcupine, as the likely source of the virus.
2019
- December 31: China alerts the World Health Organisation (WHO) that several people in Wuhan, the largest city in the Chinese province of Hubei, have reported flu-like symptoms
