The first cases of a mysterious respiratory illness began in Wuhan, China, in late December. Since then, the virus has spread worldwide, leading the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency, the first since the zika epidemic in 2016.
At first, this coronavirus was contained to China, but Wuhan is a major transportation hub with hundreds of flights leaving and landing from the city of 11 million each day.
The first known case in America was found in Everett, Washington, just outside of Seattle, in a man who had recently returned from Wuhan.
On Feb. 26, California health officials announced the first case of community spread — meaning someone had contracted coronavirus despite no recent travel, and had likely unknowingly come in contact with someone with the virus. From there, the number of U.S. cases jumped significantly, particularly in densely-populated areas in New York and Michigan.
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