Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, China, reported a cluster of cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, Hubei Province. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.

WHO reported on social media that there was a cluster of pneumonia cases – with no deaths – in Wuhan, Hubei province

WHO issued a comprehensive package of technical guidance online with advice to all countries on how to detect, test and manage potential cases, based on what was known about the virus at the time. This guidance was shared with WHO's regional emergency directors to share with WHO representatives in countries.
Based on experience with SARS and MERS and known modes of transmission of respiratory viruses, infection and prevention control guidance were published to protect health workers recommending droplet and contact precautions when caring for patients, and airborne precautions for aerosol generating procedures conducted by health workers.

Officials confirm a case of COVID-19 in Thailand, the first recorded case outside of China.

WHO experts from its China and Western Pacific regional offices conducted a brief field visit to Wuhan.

The WHO Director- General convened an Emergency Committee (EC) under the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) to assess whether the outbreak constituted a public health emergency of international concern. The independent members from around the world could not reach a consensus based on the evidence available at the time. They asked to be reconvened within 10 days after receiving more information.

The WHO Director-General reconvened the Emergency Committee (EC). This was earlier than the 10-day period and only two days after the first reports of limited human-to-human transmission were reported outside China. This time, the EC reached consensus and advised the Director-General that the outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General accepted the recommendation and declared the novel coronavirus outbreak (2019-nCoV) a PHEIC. This is the 6th time WHO has declared a PHEIC since the International Health Regulations (IHR) came into force in 2005.
WHO’s situation report for 30 January reported 7818 total confirmed cases worldwide, with the majority of these in China, and 82 cases reported in 18 countries outside China. WHO gave a risk assessment of very high for China, and high at the global level.

WHO convened a Research and Innovation Forum on COVID-19, attended by more than 400 experts and funders from around the world, which included presentations by George Gao, Director General of China CDC, and Zunyou Wu, China CDC's chief epidemiologist.

Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction, WHO made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

WHO and partners launch the Solidarity Trial, an international clinical trial that aims to generate robust data from around the world to find the most effective treatments for COVID-19.

WHO issued a Medical Product Alert warning consumers, healthcare professionals, and health authorities against a growing number of falsified medical products that claim to prevent, detect, treat or cure COVID-19.

WHO published a statement by 130 scientists, funders and manufacturers from around the world, in which they committed to working with WHO to speed the development of a vaccine against COVID-19.

WHO published updated guidance on the use of masks for the control of COVID-19, which provided updated advice on who should wear a mask, when it should be worn and what it should be made of.

WHO welcomed initial clinical trial results from the UK that showed dexamethasone, a corticosteroid, could be lifesaving for patients critically ill with COVID-19. The news built off the Global Research and Innovation Forum, which took place in Geneva in mid-February

WHO announced that the hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir arms of the Solidarity trial to find an effective COVID-19 treatment were being discontinued.

The Director-General participated in a WHO webinar with civil society organizations to discuss how to engage them in COVID-19 responses at the national and local levels, with a stated plan of future events on these issues.

The COVAX Facility, a mechanism designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines worldwide, secured engagement from more than 150 countries, representing over 60% of the world’s...

WHO published updated guidance on public health surveillance for COVID-19, which includes revised suspected and probable case definitions that integrate new knowledge about the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 and its transmission.

With health workers exposed to unprecedented risk from COVID-19, WHO released a Charter on World Patient Safety Day, calling for steps to protect health workers from violence; to improve their mental health

WHO announced conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of repurposed drugs for COVID-19. Interim results from the Solidarity Trial indicated that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of COVID-19 among hospitalized patients.

WHO issued a second Disease Outbreak News report on a SARS-CoV-2 mink-associated variant strain, reported by Danish authorities.

COVAX announced further deals, adding to existing agreements, which collectively gave it access to nearly two billion doses of several promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates, which should enable all participating countries to have access to doses in the first half of 2021.

WHO issued its first emergency use validation for a COVID-19 vaccine and emphasized the need for equitable global access.

WHO issued interim recommendations for the use of the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine against COVID-19, developed on the basis of the advice issued by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization at its extraordinary meeting on 21 January 2021.

COVAX issued a statement on new variants of SARS-CoV-2, underscoring the importance of determining the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine's effectiveness when it comes to preventing more severe illness caused by the B.1.351 variant, through additional studies.

COVAX’s global rollout began, as Ghana became the first country outside India to receive COVID-19 vaccine doses shipped via COVAX.

WHO listed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (mRNA 1273) for emergency use, allowing countries to expedite their own regulatory approvals and enabling the vaccine to be rolled out through COVAX.

WHO issued its eighth emergency use listing for a COVID-19 vaccine, for COVAXIN®, developed by Bharat Biotech. WHO interim recommendations for the use of COVAXIN® were also issued, having been developed on the basis of advice issued by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE).

The Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) issued an interim statement about implications of the Omicron variant for current COVID-19 vaccines and the group's perspective on vaccine options for the future.

COVAX delivered its billionth COVID-19 vaccine dose, with a shipment of 1.1 million doses to Rwanda.