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January

COVID-19 was circulating in 2019, but didn’t receive media attention as such until January 2020.

Scattered reports from early January indicate concern over a “pneumonia” or “respiratory illness” in Wuhan, China.

Meanwhile, in the United States, there are reports of a more-severe-than-average flu outbreak—likely a sign that COVID-19 is already in the country.

Early articles indicate that the “pneumonia” in China is linked to a so-called “wet market” neary Wuhan, where live, wild animals are sold and butchered in unhygienic circumstances.

Some articles are convinced the wet market theory is true, others are less sure, and still others posit a lab-origin theory. While bats were linked to the virus early on, another popular theory suggested snakes could be the animal vector for the virus.

China was initially praised for its transparency, but reports later in the month (January 25) revealed the country was aware of the disease circulating in 2019.

Official sources like the U.S. Center for Disease Control recommended handwashing and avoiding direct contact with sick people as the best way to avoid coronaviruses. While mask demand increased in China, official sources in the United States discouraged their use.

The U.S. begins screening travellers to New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announces vaccine development for the virus on January 20.

In late January the city of Wuhan went into lockdown, suspending economic activity and forcing people into quarantine. While considered an extreme measure at the time, this would later be a model for COVID response in other countries.

At the end of the month, the World Health Organization declared a global emergency regarding the disease. The same day, the first person-to-person transmission was recorded in the U.S. However, American media sources repeatedly claim the flu is a far bigger threat.

Key Dates and Stories:

  • January 9: The virus was found to be a coronavirus.
  • January 11: China reports first death from “mysterious virus.”
  • January 20: Human-to-human transmission was confirmed in China
  • January 23 Wuhan, China goes into a lockdown
  • January 24: First suggestions of asymptomatic spreading
  • January 30: WHO declares a global emergency
  • January 31: Anthony Fauci says “there is no doubt” people can spread “Wuhan coronavirus” asymptomatically

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