Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in January 2020

This article documents the chronology and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in January 2020, the virus which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The first human cases of COVID-19 were identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

Shandong reported six additional laboratory-confirmed cases.

[179]

Hunan reported 15 additional laboratory-confirmed cases.

[180]

Liaoning reported one additional laboratory-confirmed case.

[181]

Fujian reported one laboratory-confirmed case and two suspected cases.

[182]

Anhui reported six additional laboratory-confirmed cases.

[183]

Ningxia reported one additional laboratory-confirmed case.

[184]

Shanghai reported 13 additional laboratory-confirmed cases, bringing the total up to 33.

[185]

Japan, South Korea, and the United States all confirmed their second cases.^[187]^[188]

[186]

Singapore confirmed its second and third cases.

[189]

Thailand confirmed its fifth case.

[190]

Hong Kong confirmed three additional cases, bringing the total number to five. Nepal confirmed its first case, a student who returned from Wuhan.^[192]

[191]

France reported its first three confirmed cases, the first occurrences in the EU.^[194]^[195] The French Health Minister Agnès Buzyn stated that it is likely other cases would arise in the country.^[196]

[193]

The first confirmed incidence of human-to-human transmission outside of China was documented by the WHO in Vietnam.

[197]

A consortium of Chinese medical experts charged by the Chinese CDC with investigating the inception of the virus, published their report in , reporting details of 41 first known patients.^[198]

The Lancet

By the end of the day, the entire Hubei province had gone under a city-by-city quarantine, apart from and Shennongjia Forestry District.