1.2  Current situation of the epidemic
Until February 6, 2020, confirmed 2019-nCoV pneumonia cases were increasing with worrisome speed in China. As of 5th February, there were 24,377 cases confirmed in mainland China, including 492 deaths, 3219 severe cases, and 901 cured cases [6]. The fatality rate was about 2%. In addition, 175 cases of 2019-nCoV infection were confirmed in 24 other countries around the world. The typical events during the 2019-nCoV outbreak are summarized in Table 1 . The period from the end of December 2019 to January 2020 was the “Spring Festival travel rush” time in China. Although the government issued an order to control the flow of people, the disease spread rapidly to other cities because of asymptomatic carriers [[7], [8], [9]].
Table 1 Key events of 2019-nCoV.
Date Key events
31 December 2019 The Health Commission of Hubei province, China, first announced a cluster of unexplained cases of pneumonia.
3 January 2020 A total of 44 patients (11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition.) with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China.
5 January 2020 The WHO published a document detailing 44 patients had “pneumonia of unknown etiology”, with 121 close contacts under surveillance.
8 January 2020 The genetic sequencing demonstrated that the novel coronavirus is the potential causative organism.
11 January 2020 41 patients have been diagnosed to have infection of the novel coronavirus, with 763 close contacts, 7 severe cases and the first death.
12 January 2020 The virus was tentatively named by WHO as the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
13 January 2020 The first imported case of 2019-nCoV was found in Thailand. This is the first infected person diagnosed outside China. The patient is a 61-year-old Chinese woman living in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
16 January 2020 The first case reported in Japan. This is the second confirmed case of 2019-nCoV that has been detected outside of China. The person travelled to Wuhan, China.
19 January 2020 The first case reported in Korea. The patient was a Chinese woman who flew from Wuhan to Incheon International Airport. Four other suspected patients were being examined. Furthermore, the first case reported in Shenzhen, China.
20 January 2020 Two local infections in the Chinese province of Guangdong with no direct visit to Wuhan were the first confirmed the occurrence of human-to-human transmission through epidemiological investigation. And the first case reported in Shanghai, China.
21 January 2020 15 health-care workers infected with the 2019-nCoV in Wuhan. Zhejiang Province, Henan Province, Sichuan Province and Taiwa confirmed the first case of 2019-nCoV, respectively. The WHO announced that there was possible sustained human to-human transmission.
22–23 January 2020 17 death in Hubei Province. America and Macao and Many provinces confirmed the first case of 2019-nCoV. Such as Shandong Province, Yunnan Province, Hunan Province, America, Macao, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Guizhou Province, Shanxi Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region and Hebei Province reported the first case of 2019-nCoV, respectively.
23 January 2020 the local government in Wuhan announced the suspension of public transportation, with closure of airports, railway stations, and highways
24 January 2020 Zhejiang and Shanghai’s first patients diagnosed with 2019-nCoV recover.
5 February 2020 The confirmed pneumonia cases are increasing in 34 provinces, municipalities, and special administrative regions in China. 24,377 cases of 2019-nCoV confirmed in China, including 492 deaths, 3219 serious, and 901 cured. 175 cases of infection were confirmed in 24 other cities around the world.