COVID-19 pandemic
The disease was first found in Wuhan, Hubei, China, in December 2019. On 31 December, Chinese health authorities told the World Health Organization (WHO)about a group of viral pneumonia cases of unknown cause, and an investigation was launched in early January 2020. The virus is believed to have come from an animal source, possibly a bat, and it is thought to have been transmitted to humans at a live meat market in Wuhan where live animals were being sold. The virus quickly spread to other parts of the world by airplanes and ships, because of its highly infectious nature and ease of transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO) called it a pandemic (global disease) on 11 March 2020.The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses gave the virus its name. As of , about  cases of COVID-19 have been reported, and about  people have died of COVID-19.