Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

The first known human infection occurred in early December 2019. Molecular clock approaches suggest a similar, or slightly earlier, date of origin. An outbreak of 2019-nCoV was first detected in Wuhan, China, in mid-December 2019. A phylogenetic study based on published genomes suggests that the transmission was likely from a single infected animal. The virus subsequently spread to all other provinces of China and to more than twenty other countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. Human-to-human spread of the virus has been confirmed in China, Germany, Thailand,[Taiwan, Japan, and the United States.

                       

On 30 January 2020, 2019-nCoV was designated a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 1 February 2020, there were 11,974 confirmed cases of infection, of which 11,814 were within mainland China. Cases outside China, to date, were people who have either travelled from Wuhan, or were in direct contact with someone who travelled from the area. The number of deaths was 259 as of 1 February 2020.