Coronavirus started making international headlines at the beginning of 2020. We mapped the progression of coverage, from the first cluster of pneumonia cases reported in Wuhan (January) to worldwide cases surpassing 1 million (April). Scroll down to see the COVID-19 story placement escalate from small headlines scattered amid homepages and front pages to total dominance across all sections.
These screenshots show the evolution of pandemic homepage coverage. Each coronavirus milestone is highlighted in yellow.
January 1, 2020
China first reports a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
January 10, 2020
WHO issues comprehensive package of technical guidance online, with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases.
January 11, 2020
China declares its first death from the novel coronavirus disease. The man was 61 and had visited the live animal market, known as a “wet market,” in Wuhan.
January 17, 2020
The CDC announces that it will begin screening at three U.S. airports that receive most of the travelers from Wuhan, China: San Francisco (SFO), New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) airports.
January 21, 2020
The CDC reports the first travel-related case of the coronavirus in the U.S. (Washington state). The patient had recently returned from Wuhan, China.
January 23, 2020
China imposes lockdown in Wuhan, blocking residents from leaving by establishing roadblocks and shutting down buses, planes and ferries.
January 24, 2020
CDC reports second travel-related case of the coronavirus. The Chicago woman had returned from China, where she was caring for her sick father.
January 30, 2020
CDC confirms first person-to-person spread of the coronavirus. The virus spread from the Chicago woman who had fallen ill after travelling in China to her spouse, who had not traveled to China.
January 30, 2020
WHO declares the coronavirus a “public health emergency of international concern.”
January 31, 2020
U.S. government warns Americans not to travel to China as the death toll from coronavirus rises to 213 and WHO declares a global health emergency.
February 2, 2020
A 44-year-old man in the Philippines died after being infected, officials said, the first death reported outside China.
February 5, 2020
Princess Cruises quarantines 3,700 on ship after 10 aboard test positive for new coronavirus.
February 7, 2020
Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who tried to alert the public to the coronavirus, dies from the disease at the Wuhan Central Hospital where he worked.
February 11, 2020
WHO gives a name to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus: COVID-19. The 19 represents the year the virus was first identified, in December 2019.
February 15, 2020
France announces the first death from COVID-19 in Europe. The individual was an 80-year-old Chinese tourist.
February 18, 2020
Healthy citizens share flight to U.S. with infected travelers from cruise ship.
February 21, 2020
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive church in South Korea, was linked to a surge of infections in the country.
February 23, 2020
Italy locks down 10 towns after a growing number test positive for the disease, and two die.
February 24, 2020
The Trump administration asks Congress for $1.25 billion in emergency funds to respond to COVID-19.
February 25, 2020
Mardi Gras is held in New Orleans, La., drawing nearly 400,000 people.
February 28, 2020
The first case of coronavirus reported in Sub-Saharan Africa is in Nigeria. The individual was an Italian national who works in Nigeria and had recently returned from Milan.
February 29, 2020
CDC confirms what it believes is the first death of COVID-19 in the U.S. The Washington State man, who was in his 50s, had underlying health conditions and no history of travel or contact with a known case of the virus. The actual first COVID-19 death in the U.S. was actually three weeks earlier, officials later learn.
March 9, 2020
Coronavirus-infected Grand Princess cruise ship docks in Oakland, California.
March 11, 2020
NBA suspends games after Utah Jazz player tests positive for COVID-19.
March 12, 2020
Trump suspends most flights from Europe for 30 days, but excludes the U.K.
March 13, 2020
Broadway closes after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York announces restrictions on public gatherings.
March 17, 2020
West Virginia becomes the 50th state in the U.S. to report a case of coronavirus.
March 17, 2020
Six counties in the San Francisco area are put under a “shelter in place” order.
March 19, 2020
China reports no new domestic cases for first time. It’s a major milestone in the country’s fight against the epidemic.
March 22, 2020
Hawaii’s governor orders mandatory 14-day quarantine for people arriving to Hawaii.
March 28, 2020
CDC issues a Domestic Travel Advisory for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
