It has been hundred days since the deadly coronavirus was reported first in China and it quickly spread across nations, disrupting the way of life of mankind.
In 100 days the world hasn’t been the same again and a lot has changed about economies of nations and how people live.
Many countries have now been forced to practice social distancing and stay home to avoid spread of the virus that has no vaccine just yet.
For some the Covid-19 has caused them pain and sufferings that would take years to come to terms with.
Within 100 days over 1.3 million people have been infected and over 70, 000 killed. But there have been thousands of recoveries though.
Here is the timeline of event as recounted by the World Health Organization.
TIMELINE
31 Dec 2019: China reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
1 Jan 2020: WHO activates an Incident Management Support Team at HQ, regional & country level, putting the organization on an emergency footing for dealing with the outbreak.
4 Jan 2020: WHO reports on social media a cluster of pneumonia cases – with no deaths – in Wuhan, Hubei province in China.
5 Jan 2020: WHO publishes first Disease Outbreak News on the new virus. This is a flagship technical publication to the scientific and public health community as well as global media.
On 31 December 2019, WHO was informed of cases of #pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, #China. A total of 44 cases have been reported: 11 patients are severely ill, while the remaining 33 are in stable condition.https://t.co/1n5mM3f4Nr pic.twitter.com/cKoj0CBpyT
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 5, 2020
10 Jan 2020: WHO issues a comprehensive package of technical guidance with advice to all countries on how to detect, test & manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time.
10 Jan 2020: Evidence at the time suggests “no or limited human-to-human transmission.” Based on experience with SARS & MERS & known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection & prevention control guidance for health workers is published.
Genetic sequence of Covid-19
12 Jan 2020: China shares the genetic sequence of COVID19.
13 Jan 2020: Officials confirm case of COVID19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside China.
14 Jan 2020: WHO’s Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove notes in a press briefing there may have been limited human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus (in the 41 confirmed cases), mainly through family members & that there was a risk of a possible wider outbreak.
“There are many similarities to SARS and MERS. The experience that we have with SARS and with MERS, the experience of our Member States with these pathogens, have all prepared us for this. This is not unexpected.” @WHO provides an update on the #coronavirus in #Wuhan, #China. pic.twitter.com/X5vSnKnY34
— UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) January 14, 2020
20-21 Jan 2020: WHO experts from China and @WHOWPRO offices conducted a brief field visit to Wuhan.
22 Jan 2020: WHO mission to China issues a statement saying there is evidence of human-to-human transmission in Wuhan but more investigation is needed to understand the full extent of transmission.
22- 23 Jan 2020: WHO boss, Dr. Tedros convenes an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations to assess whether the #COVID19 outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.
22- 23 Jan 2020: The committee, consisting of independent, international experts, is unable to reach a consensus based on the evidence available at the time. They ask to be reconvened within 10 days after receiving more information.
Trip to Beijing, China
28 Jan 2020: A senior WHO delegation led by @DrTedros travels to Beijing to meet China’s leadership, learn more about China’s response, and to offer any technical assistance.
30 Jan 2020: WHO’s Dr. Tedros declares COVID19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern – WHO’s highest level of alarm – following a second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened under the International Health Regulations.
?BREAKING?
“For all of these reasons, I am declaring a public health emergency of international concern over the global outbreak of #2019nCoV.”-@DrTedros
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 30, 2020
5 Feb 2020: Global community asks for US$675 million to help protect vulnerable countries from COVID19 outbreak.
11-12 Feb 2020: WHO convenes a Research & Innovation Forum on COVID19, attended by 400+ experts & funders from around the world.
12 Feb 2020: The UN activates WHO-led Crisis Management Team bringing together WHO, @UNOCHA, @UNmigration, @UNICEF, @icao, @WFP, @FAO, @WorldBank and several UN Secretariat departments.
21 Feb 2020: WHO boss Dr. Tedros appoints six special envoys on COVID-19, to provide strategic advice and high-level political advocacy and engagement in different parts of the world.
16-24 Feb 2020: The WHO-China Joint mission, including experts from Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Nigeria, USA and two other countries spend time in Beijing & also travelled to Wuhan & two other cities. They speak with health officials, scientists & health workers (while maintaining physical distancing).
24 Feb 2020: A team of experts from WHO and the @ECDC_EU travelled to Italy to understand how COVID19 developed there, learning from the Italian experience and supporting control and prevention efforts by the authorities.
Mission to Iran
2 Mar 2020: Mission of WHO experts arrives in Iran, aiming to identify COVID19 transmission dynamics and at-risk populations, as well as provide guidance on strengthening and scaling up the response and readiness efforts.
A team of @WHO experts has landed in Tehran, IR #Iran to work w/ health & other authorities to review/support the ongoing response to #COVID19 outbreak in ??. The plane carrying the team also contained a shipment of medical supplies & protective equipment➡️https://t.co/Kb8Hug4lNd pic.twitter.com/zRBS0pfpqc
— WHO EMRO (@WHOEMRO) March 2, 2020
5 Mar 2020: WHO launches a social media campaign called Be Ready for COVID19, urging people to be safe, smart and kind.
6 Mar 2020: WHO publishes draft R&D blueprint draft for COVID19.
8 Mar 2020: WHO publishes Interim guidance on critical preparedness, readiness and response actions for 4 different COVID19 transmission scenarios: -No cases -Sporadic cases -Clusters of cases -Community transmission.
Pandemic declared
11 March 2020: WHO characterizes COVID19 as a pandemic. 90% of cases are still in just four countries. 81 countries have not reported any cases, and 57 countries have reported 10 cases or less.
? BREAKING ?
“We have therefore made the assessment that #COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic”-@DrTedros #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/JqdsM2051A
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 11, 2020
12 Mar 2020: During a 5-day mission to Azerbaijan, a team of WHO experts works with the national response committee on developing a national preparedness and response plan for COVID19.
12 Mar 2020: COVID19 expert mission to Iran concludes.
13 Mar 2020: WHO,@unfoundation and partners launch first-of-its-kind COVID19 Solidarity Response Fund.
13 Mar 2020: WHO launches the #SafeHands Challenge to promote the power of clean hands to fight the coronavirus.
There are several measures you can take to protect yourself from #COVID19. One of the most important ones is regular & safe hand hygiene. Here are the steps recommended by @WHO ?
Show the ? where and how you wash your hands. Join the WHO #SafeHands challenge! pic.twitter.com/5ElZyiyZun— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 13, 2020
15 Mar 2020: WHO COVID19 Mission to Iraq covers detection and response.
16 Mar 2020: #TogetherAtHome online concert series begins, to promote physical distancing and taking action for global health, presented by WHO and Global Citizen.
Guidelines for humanitarian crisis
17 Mar 2020: New guidance published on people affected by humanitarian crises during Covid-19
18 Mar 2020: WHO and partners launch SOLIDARITY trial to generate robust data from around the world to find the most effective treatments for COVID19.
20 Mar 2020: WHO Health Alert for coronavirus launches on @WhatsApp.
23 Mar 2020: WHO and @FIFAcom team up on campaign to kick out coronavirus.
25 Mar 2020: @UN launches COVID19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan to Invest In Humanity.
25 Mar 2020: COVID19 Mission to Egypt concludes With support from WHO and other partners, Egypt now has the capacity to conduct up to 200,000 tests.
26 Mar 2020: WHO chief @DrTedros calls on G20 leaders to fight, unite, and ignite against the coronavirus.
30 Mar 2020: WHO publishes updated operational planning guidelines to help countries balance the demands of responding to COVID19 while maintaining essential health service delivery, protecting health workers & mitigating the risk of system collapse.
Amidst #COVID19, It’s vital to deliver vaccines ? to protect people from old killers. New guidance ? provides all countries with advice on the importance of maintaining safe immunization services during a pandemic ?https://t.co/JPh2xp1mr8
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 31, 2020
Helping people
31 Mar 2020: WHO launches coronavirus chatbot with @Viber
2 April 2020: WHO is provides advice to help people be #HealthyAtHome with tips on staying physically active, looking after our mental health, quitting tobacco and healthy parenting. We invite everyone to share their ways of being healthy at home.
3 April 2020: IMF and WHO make joint call to protect lives & livelihoods.
6 April 2020: WHO updates advice on the use of masks during COVID19
7 April 2020: World Health Day highlights the critical role played by nurses and midwives, who are at the forefront of the COVID19 response globally.
“Our singular focus is on working to serve all people to save lives and stop the #COVID19 pandemic – stop this dangerous enemy”-@DrTedros #coronavirus https://t.co/VUC6dW701f
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 9, 2020
The battle still continues and it is not known just yet when it would be won and how many casualties the world would be talking about.
Source: Africafeeds.com
