The world just passed 1 million SARS-CoV-2 cases 3 months after the first was reported in China

Medical staff, wearing protective gear, move a patient infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) from an ambulance to a hospital on March 09, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea.

Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

• The new coronavirus has now infected more than 1 million people worldwide.
• It's been only three months since the first Covid-19 case was reported in Wuhan, China on 31 December, 2019.
• More than 51,000 people have died worldwide; at least 208,000 have recovered, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
• The coronavirus outbreak, which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, has spread to 181 countries.
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The number of people who have been infected by the novel coronavirus is now more than 1 million.

The Covid-19 outbreak, which started in Wuhan, China three months ago, has hit at least 181 countries, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The US, with 234,000 cases, has the highest number of infected people - about one-quarter of the world's total. Italy has 115,000 cases, Spain has reported 110,000, and China has seemingly plateaued at 82,000 cases.

South Africa has 1,462 known cases, as of Thursday night, with five confirmed deaths.

On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic.

The medical staff of China national emergency medical team prepare for boarding at the Tianhe airport on March 17, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei in China.

Stringer/Getty Images

More than 51,000 people have died worldwide. Italy and Spain have reported the highest death counts to date, with about 14,000 and 10,000 deaths, respectively.

The death total in the US and France continues to climb, too - as of Thursday, at least 5,000 Americans and 4,000 people in France had died.

However, at least 208,000 people have recovered from the illness, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

In South Africa at least 45 people have recovered.

At least one-third of the world is under some type of lockdown similar to that in South Africa; 90% of Americans are also under stay-at-home orders. Governments elsewhere are ordering people physically distance themselves.

Global efforts to "flatten the curve," so as not to overwhelm existing healthcare systems with cases, seem to be working slowly, if at all, as the daily coronavirus case count continues to rise.

Here is a timeline of some of the most significant events and moments of the pandemic.

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