coronavirus spread around the world:Dec. 31, 2019: China alerts the World Health Organization of 27 cases of "viral pneumonia" in the central city of Wuhan.
Authorities shut down a wet market in Wuhan the next day, after discovering some patients were vendors or dealers.Jan. 11, 2020: A 61-year-old man is reported as the first death.
Preliminary lab tests cited by Chinese state media point to a new type of coronavirus.Jan. 13: A Chinese woman is quarantined in Thailand, the first detection of the virus outside China.Jan.
15: Japan confirms its first case.Jan. 20: South Korea confirms its first case.Jan. 22: The WHO convenes an emergency meeting.