In pics | As WHO says Covid no longer health emergency, here's how outbreak gripped the world
Almost three years after the Covid virus, which originated in China's Wuhan city, wreaked havoc across the globe, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday, said that the virus was no longer a global health emergency, but added that the virus is not going anywhere.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that Covid has killed 'at least 20 million' people
Dec 2019: Covid emerges in China
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) is alerted to a cluster of pneumonia cases "of unknown cause" in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. A week later, a new coronavirus is identified. China confirms on January 11 its first death in Wuhan from an illness which will be named Covid-19.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Europe in lockdown
Italy, the first European country to be hard hit, imposes a lockdown in the north on March 12, which it then extends nationwide. Spain (March 14) and France (March 17) place their populations under lockdown. Germany and Britain say people should avoid all social contact. The 27-nation European Union closes its external borders.
(Photograph:AFP)
April 2020: Half the world confined
Lockdown measures are enforced all around the world. On April 2, more than 3.9 billion people -- half of the world's population -- are forced or called on to stay at home, according to an AFP count. The threshold of one million cases is exceeded.
World stock markets crash. Whole sectors of the world economy are brought to a halt.
(Photograph:AFP)
August 2020: Anti-masks, anti-vax, anti-pass
In mid-2020, amid a new upsurge, several European countries make the wearing of masks compulsory in certain places, sparking anti-mask demonstrations.
A year later, opposition turns to Covid vaccines, and to the health passes some countries require people to show.
(Photograph:AFP)
Jan 2021: Origin probe
A WHO team of international experts visits Wuhan in January 2021 to investigate the origins of the virus. Beijing baulks at calls for further investigation on the ground. In July 2022, the WHO says "all hypotheses remain on the table," as studies conclude that Covid-19 first emerged at an animal market in Wuhan.
(Photograph:AFP)
April 2021: Delta ravages India
The highly contagious Delta variant causes huge loss of life in April and May in India and then spreads quickly to the rest of the world, particularly Russia.
In November, the heavily mutated Omicron strain emerges in South Africa, prompting global panic. It spreads around the world in early 2022 sparking record infections but with less severe symptoms.
(Photograph:AFP)
Dec 2022: China ends zero-Covid
Despite its relatively low death toll, China counts the cost of the zero-Covid policy of President Xi Jinping. Public anger leads to the largest nationwide protests in decades. In response, Chinese authorities decide on December 7 to radically ease the restrictions. A surge in infections swiftly follows, leading many countries to require negative tests on travellers from China.
(Photograph:AFP)
Jan 2023: Emergency lifted
In March 2023, the WHO says the pandemic could settle down this year to a point where it poses a threat similar to flu. Little by little countries around the world lift public health measures. On May 5, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says Covid is no longer a global health emergency. It has killed "at least 20 million" people, nearly three times the official estimate, he says.
(Photograph:AFP)