On 12 January 2020, the
World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a
novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The
case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than
SARS of 2003, but the
transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. ==Timeline==