Told in a new Who HQ Now format for trending topics, this is the story of how COVID-19, a coronavirus, was first identified and how it spread throughout the world. The coronavirus disease COVID-19 emerged in November 2019. By March 2020, cities all around the world closed schools, offices, restaurants and other public spaces deemed "non-essential" in an attempt to contain the fast-spreading virus. People struggled to follow government orders, stay indoors, and limit contact with others.
But the virus that caused one of the world's deadliest pandemics eventually killed over two million people worldwide. This is the story of how COVID-19 changed the world seemingly overnight, and forever.