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April 2012

• Six miners in Yunnan were hospitalised with symptoms very similar to a SARS-CoV-2 infection after catching coronavirus strain RaTG13/CoV4991. Three miners died. Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers collected tissue samples, and later visited the caves to acquire more material.

October 2014

• US government ceases funding of gain-of-function research that makes viruses more dangerous, pending further risk assessment.

November 2015

• Research into a lab-made coronavirus related to SARS-CoV stirred debate over whether the pandemic potential was worth the risk.

December 2017

• NIH restarts funding of gain-of-function research.

March 2018

• EcoHealth Alliance submits grant proposal to DARPA to insert furin cleavage sites into SARS-CoV viruses to more efficiently bind to human cells

January 2019

• Japan gripped by worst flu outbreak on record

March 2019

• SARS-CoV-2 genome detected in Spanish wastewater samples

May 2019

• China doubles purchases of PCR tests
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in UK

June 2019

• Australia gripped by worst flu outbreak on record

July 2019

• EVALI 'outbreak' in Wisconsin with symptoms very similar to those of SARS-CoV-2 infections
• Unknown respiratory illness outbreak in Virginia nursing home sickens dozens of elderly residents with fever and pneumonia

August 2019

• Analysis finds indirect indicators that virus was present in Wuhan
• Fort Detrick biolab is shut down for three months due to breaches of containment

September 2019

• SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in Italian skin biopsies
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in Italian blood samples
• Wuhan Institute of Virology takes it's pathogen database offline (containing 22,000 bat and rodent specimens)
• US shuts down the 'Predict' research programme, which sought to identify animal viruses that might infect humans

October 2019

• 2019 Military World Games held in Wuhan, with 9,308 athletes from 109 countries competing in 329 events over the span of 9 days. Athletes present describe getting sick, and Wuhan being a "ghost town".
• US Consulate General in Wuhan aware of a severe respiratory illness circulating
• Maryland hospitals receive an influx of patients suffering from respiratory illnesses. The majority tested negative for influenza.
• John Hopkins, WEF and the Gates Foundation host a simulation of a novel zoonotic coronavirus pandemic ("Event 201")
• SARS-CoV-2 antigens present in plasma samples in Boston, MA

November 2019

• SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in human wastewater in Santa Catarina, Brazil
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in France
• Unofficial Chinese "patient zero" traced back to November 17
• French thoracic scans show lung damage indicative of COVID infection
• US intelligence agencies allegedly alert NATO and Israel to an emerging disease in Wuhan
• US intelligence report claims three researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalised

December 2019

• Symptoms start for the official "patient zero" in China. This person had no connection to Huanan Seafood Market
• Wuhan Municipal Health Commission reports 27 cases of viral pneumonia on Dec 12th
• Professor Ian Lipkin learns of coronavirus outbreak in China in mid-December
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in Norwegian blood samples
• SARS-CoV-2 antibodies present in American blood samples
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in Milan and Turin wastewater samples (Italy)
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA found in blood and lungs of cadaver from Milan
• Virus likely present in Iran
• French man (with no history of travel) hospitalised for pneumonia. Samples later test positive for SARS-CoV-2
• SARS-CoV-2 detected by commerical laboratory (Vision Medicals) in Guangzhou on Dec 26th
• Dr. Zhang Jixian of Hubei reports the new virus to Chinese health authorities on Dec 27th
• Wuhan Health Commission alerts Chinese CDC and WHO on Dec 31st

January 2020

• First official case reported outside of China
• First official European case in France
• China confirms human to human transmission of SARS-CoV-2
• China announces lockdown of Wuhan
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in wastewater samples in Bologna, Italy
• SARS-CoV-2 RNA present in Spanish wastewater samples
• English death retroactively labeled as a COVID death
• Wuhan crematories observed to operating 24 hours a day instead of a typical 4 hours
• WHO declares public health emergency on Jan 30th

February 2020

• First official Italian case
• First official Spanish case
• Tencent News accidentally publishes COVID case figures much higher than the official Chinese numbers

May 2020

• 90% of 'uninfected' Canadians show antibody cross-reactivity to SARS-CoV-2, suggesting widespread prior immunity