In December 2019, clusters of unexplained pneumonia were identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China, and initial cases of the epidemic were associated with a history of activity in the Wuhan South China Sea Xiancheng city, whose pathogen was announced as a novel coronavirus by Chinese authorities on January 9, 2020. The outbreak spread rapidly to other provinces in China and around the world, and was confirmed to be human-to-human. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020, and the novel coronavirus was declared a PHEIC on February 11, 2020. The disease caused by the virus is called COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease-2019), and the scientific name of the virus is SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) by the International Classification of Virology. In order to monitor and prevent this emerging infectious disease, COVID-19 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) was declared as a Group 5 legal infectious disease on January 15, 2020, and the first confirmed case of overseas importation was confirmed on January 21, 2020, and the first local case of household clustering caused by overseas importation was confirmed on January 28, 2020.

Implemented by Department of Earth and Life Science
Date: 2020/10/12