2019 NOVEL
CORONAVIRUS TIMELINE
JAN 3, 2020
DEC 31, 2019
Pneumonia of unknown
etiology emerges in
Wuhan City, Hubei
Province, China.
Chinese authorities
alert WHO that a
group of 44 patients are
sick with pneumonia.
JAN 7, 2020
The Chinese authorities
isolate a new coronavirus.
JAN 20, 2020
282 cases are
confirmed in China.
JAN 22, 2020
First confirmed case in the
U.S. in a patient who
traveled from China.
JULY 12, 2020
U.S. confirmed cases:
3,236,130
U.S. deaths:
134,572
GLOBAL:
12,552,765 cases
561,617 deaths
This is an ever-evolving disaster due to new findings and
data and availability of resources, so refer to the CDC
website for detailed information when you need it.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
From December 31, 2019 through January 3, 2020, a total of 44 case-patients with
pneumonia of unknown etiology were reported to the World Health Organization
(WHO) by national authorities in China. Chinese scientists quickly isolated a new
coronavirus on January 7, 2020, and by January 20th, there were 282 confirmed
infected cases. The new virus named SARs CoV-2, was first detected in Wuhan City,
Hubei Province, China, and continued to spread throughout the mainland there. Just a
little over a month later, this novel coronavirus, infected over 42,000 people in China,
causing 1,017 deaths there, and has since spread globally, causing a pandemic.
The first U.S. case was reported on January 22 nd and subsequently confirmed by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The illness onset was marked as
early as January 14th. By February 10, 2020, there were 13 confirmed cases identified in
Washington, California, Arizona, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Currently, all states in the
U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are affected.
SARS CoV-2 is a new coronavirus that has not been previously recognized in humans.
Early cases were thought to have crossed over to humans from an animal, such as a
camel, cow, cat, or bat, because many of those that were first infected were exposed to
a large seafood and live animal market in Wuhan. The animal source has not yet been
identified. COVID-19 is a betacoronavirus like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
(MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), both of which
have their origin in bats. Human to human transmission is now occurring.
The official name for the disease caused by SARS CoV-2 is COVID-19. ‘CO’ stands for
‘corona’, ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for ‘disease’.
Signs and Symptoms
COVID-19 causes respiratory illness with symptoms of fever or chills, cough, and
shortness of breath. Symptoms range from mild, as with the common cold, to deadly.
Other symptoms include fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new losses of taste or
smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. The
incubation period is thought to extend to 14 days with most developing symptoms
within 11.5 days. Signs and symptoms are similar in children, but they are usually milder.
Clinicians should be aware that some patients deteriorate rapidly one week
after symptom onset.
The most common laboratory findings among hospitalized patients with pneumonia on
admission included lymphopenia, neutrophilia, and elevated alanine aminotransferase
and LDH levels. Elevated D-dimer and lymphopenia have been associated with
increased mortality. Most patients show bilateral involvement on chest CT. Typically
there are multiple areas of consolidation and ground glass opacities; however, these
findings are not specific to COVID-19, and chest radiograph or CT alone should not be
used to diagnose the disease. Hypoxia and systemic inflammation may result in increased
cytokines and activation of the coagulation pathway, causing hypercoagulability. More
information on hypercoagulability and COVID-19 is available from:
• American Society of Hematology
• National Institutes of Health: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment
Guidelines – Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients with COVID-19
TREATMENT GUIDELINES
Currently there is no effective vaccine or antiviral agent for this infection, and treatment
is supportive to manage symptoms. Clinical management guidelines include information in
the following links:
• American Society of Hematology – “COVID-19 Resources”
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) - “COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines”
• NIH - COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel Provides Recommendations for
Dexamethasone in Patients with COVID-19
• Surviving Sepsis Campaign – “COVID-19 Guidelines”
• World Health Organization (WHO) - "Clinical management of severe acute respiratory
infection (SARI) when COVID-19 disease is suspected"
• American Thoracic Society–"Diagnosis and Treatment of Adults with Communityacquired
Pneumonia. An Official Clinical Practice Guideline of the American Thoracic
Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America"
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