In late 2019, a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in Wuhan, China; the respiratory illness associated with this virus was named COVID-19. 1 World Health Organization Timeline of WHO’s response to COVID-19. This disease rapidly spread around the world. By July 2020, the disease had been detected in more than 200 countries, infected more than 10 million individuals, and contributed to more than 500,000 deaths. 2 World Health Organization WHO coronavirus disease (COVID-19) dashboard.