It was first seen in the Wuhan region of China in early December of 2019, and was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO / WHO) as the official name of the virus, SARS-CoV2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2). The World Health Organization uses the term COVID-19 to describe the disease caused by the virus.

On January 30, 2020, CoViD-19 was declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. On March 11, 2020, the virus was declared as a pandemic, a global epidemic.