Exactly one year ago, a mysterious illness emerged in Wuhan, China, marking the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that has now killed over 1.3 million people around the world and infected 55 million and more. In March, the South China Morning Post published an article based on Chinese government data that showed the first known case of COVID-19 can be traced back to November 17, 2019—possibly a 55-year-old individual from Hubei province.
The Chinese government, however, has not confirmed the “patient zero”. They did not officially identify the first case of the new disease until December 8, 2019. Several hundreds were treated for pneumonia of an unknown illness. US intelligence reports called it a “contagion was sweeping through China’s Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population”.
It was only on January 8, 2019, the World Health Organisation reported that Chinese authorities have determined that the outbreak is caused by a novel coronavirus.
On the anniversary of the first known COVID-19 infection, here’s how the internet reacted.