A TIMELINE OF THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
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* Dec 31 - China informs the World Health Organisation of a mysterious pneumonia cluster linked to a fish market in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province.
* Jan 11 - A 61-year-old Wuhan man becomes the first virus-linked fatality
* Jan 13 - First case occurs outside of China, in Thailand
* Jan 21 - First warning in Australia for new coronavirus
* Jan 21 - A Brisbane man is tested and quarantined after retuning from Wuhan. He is cleared two days later.
* Jan 23 - Sydney airport starts screening passengers arriving from Wuhan
* Jan 24 - The University of Queensland begins work on finding a vaccine
* Jan 25 - Australia records its first case, a Victorian-Chinese man in his 50s
* Jan 25 - Australia raises Wuhan alert to "do not travel". First three cases confirmed in NSW.
* Jan 29 - Scientists at Melbourne's Peter Doherty Institute become the first to recreate the coronavirus
* Jan 30 - Italy records its first two cases
* Feb 3 - More than 200 Australians are evacuated on Qantas flights from Wuhan to be quarantined on Christmas Island for 14 days.
* Feb 5 - A further 50 are evacuated on an Air New Zealand charter flight
* Feb 5 - Two Australians contract coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined off Japan
* Feb 5 - Australia announces a 14-day ban for non-citizens arriving from China
* Feb 11 - The global death toll passes 1000.
* Feb 12 - The WHO names the coronavirus COVID-19.
* Feb 19 - 180 Australians stuck on the Japanese cruise ship are evacuated to a quarantine camp in Darwin. Four later test positive to the virus.
* Feb 20 - China travel ban extended
* Mar 1 - Foreign nationals entering from Iran ordered to fortnight quarantine. Meanwhile, a Perth man rescued from the Diamond Princess becomes the nation's first fatality,
* March 3: A 96-year-old woman in Sydney aged care dies
* March 7: Global cases hit 100,000
* March 9: Elderly Sydney man in another aged care home becomes third death
March 10: Four Australians are trapped on The Grand Princess cruise ship in San Francisco bay after passengers test positive for the virus.
March 11: The WHO declares a global pandemic
March 12: The Morrison government pledges $17.6 billion to buttress the economy
March 15: The national death toll hits five
March 17: Virus cases outside China surpass those inside its borders
March 17: Europe bans travel to the region for 30 days
March 17: Australia declares human biosecurity emergency as national death toll rises to six
March 18: Ban on indoor gatherings of more than 100 people
March 18: Airliners promised $715 million from the Commonwealth as domestic and global travel plummets
March 18: The Morrison government raises international travel advice to peak level - 'do not travel'
March 19: Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin announce suspension of all international flights while the former stands down 20,000 workers
March 19: The RBA slashes the cash rate to a record-low 0.25 per cent at an emergency meeting.
March 19: All non-citizens and non-residents are banned from entering the country from 9pm, March 21. Citizens and family must self-quarantine for 14 days.
March 19: New Zealand follows suit, shutting its borders for the first time in history
March 19: Tasmania announces a 14-day quarantine on people entering the Apple isle from midnight, March 21.
March 19: An 81-year-old NSW woman dies, bringing the national toll to seven.
March 20: Italy's death toll passes China's with 3405 dead, while the number of deaths worldwide passes 10,000
March 20: Three people test positive on the Ruby Princess cruise ship docked in Sydney with the 3800 passengers and crew urged to self-isolate
Australian Associated Press
