User:Pandemics/Coronavirus pandemic

Background
On 31 December 2019, health authorities in China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) a cluster of viral pneumonia cases of unknown cause in Wuhan, Hubei, and an investigation was launched in early January 2020. On 30 January, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)—7,818 cases confirmed globally, affecting 19 countries in five WHO regions. Previously, bats in China have been identified as possessing a great diversity of coronaviruses.

Several of the early cases had visited Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and so the virus is thought to have a zoonotic origin. The virus that caused the outbreak is known as SARS‑CoV‑2, a newly discovered virus closely related to bat coronaviruses, pangolin coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV. The scientific consensus is that COVID-19 has a natural origin. The probable bat-to-human infection may have been among people processing bat carcasses and/or guano in the production of traditional Chinese medicines. Guano is a popular source of organic fertilizer in many countries around the world, including China. Other uses of guano in China include a folk medicine remedy to improve eyesight by rubbing guano in the eyes in order to improve eyesight. Various theories have suggested that workers in the guano trade in China are the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, spelunkers, miners, and tourists who visit caves and come into close contact with bat colonies and breathe the same air as them have also been suggested to have been the initial source of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The earliest known person with symptoms was later discovered to have fallen ill on 1December 2019, and that person did not have visible connections with the later wet market cluster. Of the early cluster of cases reported that month, two-thirds were found to have a link with the market. On 13 March 2020, an unverified report from the South China Morning Post suggested a case traced back to 17 November 2019 (a 55-year-old from Hubei) may have been the first person infected.

The WHO recognized the spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020. Italy, Iran, South Korea, and Japan reported surging cases. The total numbers outside China quickly passed China's.