On 23rd of January 2020 the city of Wuhan and others in the Hubei region of China were locked down in an attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19 virus.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) had published between the 10th and 12th of January 2020 package of guidance documents for countries, covering topics related to the management of an outbreak of a new disease:
• Infection prevention and control
• Laboratory testing
• National capacities review tool
• Risk communication and community engagement
• Disease Commodity Package (v1)
• Disease Commodity Package (v2)
• Travel advice
• Clinical management
• Surveillance case definitions

On the 13th of January 2020 the first case of Covid 19 was confirmed outside of China, in Thailand.

On 14th of January 2020 Reporters from Hong Kong were taken to a police station after trying to film the situation within Wuhan hospital

By January 22nd 2020 Public Health England issued a statement that the risk level to the British public was moved from ‘very low’ to ‘low’.

January 29th 2020:

• The UK’s first two patients test positive for Coronavirus after two Chinese nationals from the same family staying at a hotel in York fall ill.
• A plane evacuating Britons from Wuhan arrives at RAF Brize Norton. Passengers go into a 14 day quarantine at a specialist hospital on Merseyside

By the 30th of January WHO had declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), WHO’s highest level of alarm. Interactive Timeline

21 February 2020: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that the window of opportunity to contain the outbreak is “narrowing” and that the international community needs to act quickly, including through financing.

On the 3rd of March 2020: Jeane Freeman, the Health Minister of Scotland at the time confirmed to the Scottish Parliament the first case over that weekend of the virus being recorded in Tayside.

“The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), who provide expert advice to us has updated their reasonable worst case scenario planning assumptions for coronavirus. It is important to stress that this does not represent a prediction or forecast, but it is sensible modelling based on available data that allows us to plan for the worst case position. This current modelling tells us that 80% of the UK population may become infected, with 4% of that number requiring hospitalisation and an estimated 1% fatality rate in those infected. These are big numbers and it is important that I put some caveats around them. ” Timeline of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland

March 4th 2020

• Cases of Covid-19 surge in the UK, as officials announce the biggest one-day increase so far as 34 cases bring the total to 87
• Italy announces it is shutting schools and universities.

By April 2nd 2020 The number of worldwide coronavirus cases passes one million. 

Globally, as of 5:55pm CET, 21 January 2022, there have been 340,543,962 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 5,570,163 deaths, reported to WHO. As of 19 January 2022, a total of 9,571,502,663 vaccine doses have been administered. WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard

As of the 19th of January 2022 153,490 people in the UK died within the 28 day period of testing positive for Covid 19. 175,256 have died where Covid19 is mentioned on the death certificate.