timeline of the covid-19 pandemic in august 2021 timeline of the covid-19 pandemic in august 2021 this article documents the chronology and epidemiology of sars-cov-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) and is responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, in august 2021. the first human cases of covid-19 were identified in wuhan, china, in december 2019.