The First 50 days of COVID-19: A Detailed Chronological Timeline and Extensive Review of Literature Documenting the Pandemic

This chapter surveys the global unfolding of events during the first 50 days of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. An extensive review of literature from both academic and popular sources provides a daily overview of the situation covering health, economic, political, and social perspectives and outlines the major course of actions. This chapter surveys, and lays, the chronological timeline of the outbreak, health policy, deaths, recovery, and socioeconomic measures and provides a factual narrative on the unfolding of the pandemic and, while doing so, underlines major milestones and contradictory findings and beliefs on the subject. This supports the perception that data collection varied between research groups, organizations, and national bodies, which later fueled differing viewpoints and policies for combatting the outbreak.