Timeline: What we know about the coronavirus
By Li Bowen
People's Daily app
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Hainan seafood market.jpg

File photo: AFP

Since the first case was reported in December, over 200 cases caused by the novel coronavirus have been reported in China as of Monday. Patients showed symptoms of fever, cough, chest distress or dyspnea. The World Health Organization linked the outbreak to exposures in a local seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed on January  1.

To curb the spread of the virus, China has worked with other countries and taken comprehensive measures including sending work teams to local regions for epidemic prevention and control, strengthening the monitoring system and providing the infected with timely and professional treatment.

Timeline:

December 30: A patient infected with pneumonia from an unknown cause was reported in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

January 7:  Preliminary lab results identified a novel type of coronavirus as the cause.

January 11: China reported the first death from pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.  According to local health officials, the patient, a 61-year-old male, passed away in hospital in the evening of January 9.

January 12: China shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus with the World Health Organization for developing specific diagnostic kits.

January 13: A Wuhan tourist traveling to Thailand was confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus. Japan confirmed a pneumonia case. The patient, a male Chinese citizen who traveled to Japan from Wuhan, went through treatment and was discharged from hospital two days later.

January 17: Thailand found a second case of the coronavirus.

January 20: Coronavirus cases have been reported in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province. South Korea reported its first coronavirus case.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered resolute efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus and standardize treatment procedures. He also spoke of the need for the timely release of information and the deepening of international cooperation.