31 December 2019
The World Health Organization (WHO) detects reports of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause on the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission website. Similar reports are picked up from event-based surveillance systems and routine monitoring of open source platforms, web and media traffic for potential public health events.
1 January 2020
WHO activates its three-level (global, regional and country-level) Incident Management Support Team (IMST) and begins assessment of the new coronavirus. The WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) contact point officially requests verification of reported cases from Chinese authorities, as per the IHR (2005) mandate.
3 January 2020
WHO and Chinese authorities hold a meeting in Beijing, where officials provide information on a new cluster of pneumonia cases identified in Wuhan.
4 January 2020
WHO posts on social media (Twitter) about the reporting in China of a cluster of pneumonia cases.
5 January 2020
WHO shares detailed technical information with all Member States and 15 contact points via the IHR Event Information Site. WHO also publicly reports the information in its Disease Outbreak News and provides initial advice to the global public health community.
10 January 2020
WHO issues a comprehensive package of technical guidance for countries. All WHO country offices in the Western Pacific Region are put on alert to start supporting countries to prepare for the potential impacts of the new coronavirus.
16 January 2020
Japan reports its first case of COVID-19.
19 January 2020
WHO starts to deploy staff from the Regional Office in Manila to China to support the COVID-19 response.
20 January 2020
The Republic of Korea reports its first case of COVID-19.
20–21 January 2020
Experts from WHO conduct a field visit to Wuhan.
22–23 January 2020
The first meeting of the WHO IHR (2005) Emergency Committee for the COVID-19 outbreak is held at WHO headquarters in Geneva to review the situation. The Committee is composed of independent experts from around the world.
22 January 2020
The WHO Representative Office for China issues a statement mentioning that there is evidence of human-to-human transmission of COVID-19.
23 January 2020
Singapore reports its first case of COVID-19.
24 January 2020
Viet Nam reports its first case of COVID-19.
28 January 2020
A senior delegation led by the WHO Director-General and including the Regional Director for the Western Pacific meets with high-level Chinese officials in Beijing.
30 January 2020
WHO reconvenes the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee in Geneva. WHO declares the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
31 January 2020
Ministers of health and Heads of health of Pacific island countries and areas convened for a 1st update by the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific. By end-April, WPRO organizes 12 Minister of health and Heads of health briefings for Pacific island countries and areas.
In a separate meeting, IHR focal points from other countries across the Region are convened for a 1st briefing and discussion on COVID-19 preparation and response measures. By mid-May, WPRO organizes 13 of such IHR focal point briefings.
1 February 2020
The Philippines reports its first COVID-19-related death.
6 February 2020
Protective gear is shipped to countries and areas in the Region. By mid-May, WHO procures and dispatches a total of 171 552 tests kits to 21 laboratories in 10 countries in the Region. Laboratory reagents are also distributed to countries and areas, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Distribution of GeneXpert cartridges for testing is ongoing.
(The WHO Regional Office has ensured that the strategic regional stockpile is replenished with 2 million surgical masks and other personal protective equipment items, as well as in-kind donations.)
10 February 2020
The WHO Division of Pacific Technical Support works with partners to establish a joint Incident Management Team with representatives from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Pacific Community, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Specialists from DFAT and MFAT are deployed to support the joint Team.
11 February 2020
The disease is officially named COVID-19, an acronym that stands for coronavirus disease 2019.
12 February 2020
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and WHO launch a COVID-19 ad hoc working group for the Asia Pacific region to ensure coordinated support for Member States from the United Nations and other development partners involved in the COVID-19 response.
14 February 2020
3rd virtual meeting of Pacific island countries Ministers of health and Heads of health.
3rd virtual meeting of IHR focal points for non-Pacific island countries.
16–24 February 2020
A WHO–China joint mission (including experts from Canada, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Singapore and the United States of America) visits Beijing, Wuhan and two other cities in China.
21 February 2020
The WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific releases its first guidance document on COVID-19: The COVID-19 Risk Communication Package for Healthcare Facilities.
(By mid-May, there are 15 more guidance notes on key topics, including an algorithm for patient referral, routine immunization services, mental health and psychosocial support, and addressing noncommunicable diseases in the COVID-19 response.)
23 February 2020
The WHO Regional Office dispatches experts to support infection prevention and control assessments, training and simulation exercises for COVID-19 response and preparedness activities. Experts are initially deployed to Papua New Guinea, then to Brunei Darussalam and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
(As of mid-May, the WHO Regional Office has deployed 136 experts to 9 countries in the Region.)
28 February 2020
Ministers of health from non-Pacific island countries in the Western Pacific join the 5th IHR focal point briefing, in which WHO launches guidance on preparing for large-scale community transmission of COVID-19. Countries and areas are encouraged to leverage core capacities to prepare for multiple scenarios, including large-scale community transmission within their borders.
WHO assesses the risk at the global level as “very high”.
11 March 2020
The first risk communication and community engagement webinar is held on “Communicating the Risk of Large-scale Community Transmission”.
(As of mid-May, nine webinars have been organized to guide country offices, countries and partners to jointly communicate on COVID-19.)
13 March 2020
The second virtual meeting of Pacific island health ministers and senior officials is held to discuss the global/regional COVID-19 situation and ongoing preparedness measures in the Pacific.
The first virtual meeting with development partners on COVID-19 is held in the Region. More than 50 development partners participate to help countries and areas to combat COVID-19 with WHO guidance, including the WHO Western Pacific Regional Action Plan for the Response to Large-Scale Community Outbreaks of COVID-19.
19 March 2020
8th virtual meeting of IHR focal points for non-Pacific island countries.
20 March 2020
8th virtual meeting of Pacific island countries Ministers of health and Heads of health.
8 April 2020
Ministers of health and senior officials from 32 countries and areas across the Region convene for a special high-level ministerial meeting. They acknowledge that COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis and commit to stand together in solidarity to combat the disease.
23 April 2020
The Asia-Pacific Parliamentarian Forum on Global Health convenes an ad hoc virtual meeting with 30 parliamentarians from 20 countries participating. They call for solidarity among parliamentarians and countries in responding to COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of Member State collaboration with WHO to facilitate an effective, equitable, coordinated and sustainable response.
24 April 2020
12th virtual meeting of Pacific island countries Ministers of health and Heads of health.
30 April 2020
The third meeting of the IHR (2005) Emergency Committee recommends that COVID-19 remain classified as a PHEIC. Recommendations are endorsed by the WHO Director-General.
7 May 2020
8th virtual meeting of IHR focal points for non-Pacific island countries.
See the global timeline here:
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/08-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19