Where and what was happening during this month.
WORLD: DECEMBER 1ST : The earliest
date of symptom onset, according to a study in the journal Lancelot (2),
this patient did not have a direct link with the Wuhan Seafood Market that has
been associated with the origin of the virus. Where it started is still not
100% known. (1)
DECEMBER 8TH: A hospital report shows 1 to
5 new cases come in with similar symptoms on an average each day at this point.
However, this being a new virus, some sources quoted this as the first day
where the first patient in the city of Wuhan had sought medical help for
pneumonia-like symptoms. (1) Possibly where the first patient had tested
positive. (3) During these early stages of the onset of the virus, there was no
clear evidence of how many people were affected. For this reason, information
from Chinese authorities (Wuhan City Health Committee) and those of the WHO
stated that December 8, 2019 marked the onset of the first 41 cases that were
tested and later confirmed positive. (1)
DECEMBER 29TH: Hospitals are continuing to
receive more patients with unknown “pneumonia-like symptoms”; fear of the
outbreak is already spreading, especially amongst Chinese social medical called
WeChat. The most reoccurring words to appear were “SARS” and “shortness of
breath”, these words were some of the most used on December 29th. (1) A local hospital,
in Hubei, Wuhan, reported their first 4 cases of a “pneumonia of unknown new
virus of unknown etymology. (2) All 4 cases had signs and symptoms of acute respiratory syndrome and were officially confirmed and
linked to Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which at this point everyone thought to be the source of the virus. By this date there had been over 180 people reported in Wuhan that had
been infected (unconfirmed due to no official report stating this information), but due to doctors not marking these as suspected cases, they had not been reported, as they stated that there weren't any signs of the “unknown disease.” Only once their charts had been cross-referenced did this become confirmed cases (1)
DECEMBER 30TH: Li Wenliang, an
ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, alerted physicians about the
emergence of a SARS-like illness, however he was later detained by police on
charges of spreading rumors. (5)
DECEMBER 31ST: Now here is where there
starts to be some inconsistencies in reports.
This is the day they previously unknown disease of
“2019-nCoV” became COVID-19 and an official pandemic. This gained the attention
by the WHO and the C.D.C. (Center for Disease Control). (1) (However, some
sources state this was the first time China reported the “pneumonia-like
illness of unknown cause” to the WHO) WHO officials based in China gave
information that it was detected in Wuhan, from the Hubei province. At this
time, it was reported that the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission was already
handling 27 pneumonia cases with 7 in critical condition. (1) (Other sources
report this is also when China informed the WHO of 41 cases. (3)) Officials did
not know how it was transmitted and some say human to human infection had been
ruled out. All patients with symptoms in Wuhan hospitals were placed under
quarantine. By this date, WHO had taken over reporting so that more coordinated
and reliable figures and information could be given. (1)
WHO: WHO was just learning about the virus,
they had the same information that was given above.
USA: Late December the CDC started monitoring
the outbreak after China announced a cluster of pneumonia causes of unknow
origin centered in Wuhan, China. (11)
TEXAS: No reports at this time.
BEXAR COUNTY/SAN ANTONIO: No news at this
time.
So this was my first Christmas married to my husband. Our first Christmas we had just started dating in the fall. It was our dog's first Christmas with us and of course we did the whole first Christmas ornament both for him and us being married. Bought my daughter a drawing tablet. She is AWESOME with drawing and animation! Finished my Christmas shopping, for once I was able to actually afford buying everyone a gift and not just some small itty bitty ones like before. We took my daughter to the nutcracker. Her first ballet. She wasn't too impressed, apparently not her style lol. I was LOVING the fact that I had found a migraine preventative shot that actually worked! Seriously, not one migraine since. After 3.5 years my top braces were about to come off. Those were some very long years. I had no idea that it would be a lot longer in the near future. Our dog, Jethro, going to doggy daycare to socialized had his first Christmas party and his doggy best friend was there also. Dressed up as Ms. Claus, and actually felt good about how I looked. A lovely woman showed me that there is still great people out there. AND THEN.... it was new years eve. There was a black cloud looming and none of us had ANY idea how strong we needed to be.
