The World Health Organization (WHO) was informed of 44 cases of pneumonia of unknown microbial
aetiology associated with Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China on 31 December 2019. Most of the patients
in the outbreak reported a link to a large seafood and live animal market (Huanan South China Seafood
Market).[12] The WHO announced that a novel coronavirus had been detected in samples taken from these
patients. Laboratory tests ruled out severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), Middle East
respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, influenza, avian influenza, and other common respiratory pathogens.[13]
Since then, the outbreak has escalated rapidly, with the WHO declaring a public health emergency of
international concern on 30 January 2020. The outbreak spread rapidly from a single city to an entire country
in only 30 days.[11] The numbers of cases and deaths have surpassed the toll from the 2002-2003 outbreak
of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Globally, 87,137 cases have been reported (as of 1 March
2020).[14]
Cases in China
• Nearly 80,000 cases and approximately 2800 deaths have been reported in China (as of 1 March
2020). The majority of cases are in Hubei Province.[14] [15]
Cases outside of China
• At least 7000 cases and 104 deaths have been reported in the following 58 countries outside of China
(as of 1 March 2020): Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium,
Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Greece, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia,
Mexico, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka,
Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US, and Vietnam. In addition to
this, 705 cases have been reported on an international conveyance (a cruise ship) in Japan.
At least 20 countries have reported local transmission (as of 1 March 2020): Australia, Canada,
Croatia, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, San Marino, Singapore,
South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US, and Vietnam. [14]
These case counts are correct at the time of publication; however, they are increasing daily, and you should
consult the case count resources below for updated information if necessary:
• [WHO: novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation dashboard]
• [WHO: coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports]
• [CDC: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US]
• [CDC: locations with confirmed COVID-19 cases]
• [National Health Committee of the People’s Republic of China: outbreak report]
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently published data from the largest case series
to date (72,314 cases from 31 December 2019 to 11 February 2020). The majority of confirmed cases (87%)
were aged 30 to 79 years, 1% were aged 9 years or younger, 1% were aged 10 to 19 years, and 3% were
aged 80 years or older. Approximately 51% of patients were male and 49% were female. Nearly 4% of cases
were in health care workers.[11]
Infection in children is being reported much less commonly than among adults, and all cases so far have
been in family clusters or in children who have a history of close contact with an infected patient.