January 5: China announces that the unknown pneumonia cases in Wuhan are not SARS or MERS.

January 7: Chinese authorities confirm that they have identified the virus as a novel coronavirus, initially named 2019-nCoV by the WHO.

January 11: The sequenced genome is posted on open-source site virological.org.

The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission announces the first death caused by the coronavirus.

Berlin scientist Olfert Landt and his team send their test kit to Hong Kong and Taiwan.

January 12: Chinese authorities share the sequence on January 12.

January 16: Hong Kong University scientists submit their kit to the World Health Organization.

January 17: A top health official says the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made its own test, without using the protocols published by the WHO.

February 11: The WHO names the coronavirus Covid-19.