It’s been exactly a year since Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of unknown pneumonia in Wuhan, central Province of Hubei. In early January, Chinese epidemiologists already identified the novel coronavirus to be the cause of infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as COVID-19 later.
On January 11, the news emerged about the first coronavirus-related fatality. Back then, Wuhan had 41 known cases. The WHO data shows that there are more than 80 million infections around the world and 1.77 million deaths.
The coronavirus outbreak changed the normal way of life of the whole humanity in 2020 and is likely to affect it significantly in 2021 as well. TASS summarized the key moments of the pandemic, its spread around the world and what followed next.
Starting with market?
According to the most widespread theory, Wuhan’s seafood market is believed to be the point of the very first outbreak of COVID-19. Nevertheless, scientists still cannot come to a definite conclusion about the coronavirus origin a year after the disease onset. Most specialists are convinced that the virus is of natural origin, even though there are still suggestions out there that COVID-19 is manmade.
In early January 2020, the WHO claimed that the coronavirus cannot be transmitted between humans but can cause serious illness, saying that there should not be any travel restrictions or limitations in trips to or trade with China.
However, the organization recognized its human-to-human transmission already on January 14.
By late January, the COVID-19 epidemic had already become more widespread than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, which also originated in China. On January 30, the WHO declared the outbreak a healthcare emergency of international concern.
On March 11, the coronavirus pandemic officially began.
Waves and regions
The coronavirus is spreading unevenly around the world. For instance, China only had one outbreak which ended in mid-April, while Iran is in the middle of a third wave according to local specialists. India experienced sharp increases in cases in June, reaching peak numbers by September (around 100,000 cases a day), which have been gradually dropping since.
Europe has faced two coronavirus waves, in spring and fall, with the second one being much more powerful than the first. However, while the infection rates surged a few times in the UK, Italy, Spain and France, the increase in Poland and the Czech Republic is ten-fold.
The United States came to be the main epicenter of the infection, the country is now experiencing a third and most powerful wave. The US also has the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths (339,000), outnumbering the country’s WW2 death toll, according to specialists.
Lockdown
Being the first country in the world to face the disease, China initially isolated Wuhan and later declared a nationwide quarantine, shutting down industries, businesses and transport and significantly limiting freedom of movement.
These measures were criticized at first abroad, but later lockdowns were announced almost everywhere in the world, from Japan to the US. International air travel came to a grinding halt, while conferences, festivals and sporting events were canceled one after the other. Social life moved to online en masse.
The spring quarantines dealt a considerable blow to national economies around the world, prompting many governments to soften or lift them altogether as soon as the situation improved. However, when the second wave hit in fall a lot of states returned to some form of lockdowns. Most Europeans will celebrate the New Year in quarantine, albeit a softer one than in spring as economies stay open, but with curfews in place, mass gathering bans and limited operation hours of shops, restaurants and cultural facilities.
The situation exacerbated further after the UK discovered a new and more infectious strain of virus, forcing many states to stop flights to and from this country.
Vaccinations begin
A lot of hope for returning to normality is resting on coronavirus vaccines. Russia launched efforts to research a potential vaccine almost as soon as the disease emerged. These efforts came to fruition when Russia became the first country to register a COVID-19 vaccine dubbed Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya Center. In early December, the country started mass inoculation. Another Russian vaccine, EpiVacCorona, developed by the Vector Center has also been rolled out for civil circulation.
Following Russia, the US, the UK and EU members have also launched its vaccination programs. These countries use the jab created by Pfizer and BioNTech. At the same time, the EU states only received limited supplies of the vaccines – only health workers and care home residents will be inoculated as of now.
China has also started vaccination using the locally produced vaccine. India, Brazil, Japan and several other states are also researching vaccines.
Mass vaccinations in most countries around the world are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021, particularly through COVAX, an international mechanism created by the WHO to ensure access to vaccines.
