31 December 2019 A cluster of cases of pneumonia reported by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China

4 January 2020 First recorded case of COVID-19 outside China, in Thailand

28 January 2020 The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office updates its travel advisory, advising against all but essential travel to mainland China

31 January 2020 First recorded case of COVID-19 in the UK

2 March 2020 The government holds a COBRA (Civil Contingencies Committee) meeting to discuss its preparations and response to the virus, as the number of UK cases jumps to 36

3 March 2020 The government publishes its action plan for dealing with COVID-19. This includes scenarios ranging from a milder pandemic to a severe prolonged pandemic and warns that a fifth of the national workforce could be absent from work during the peak

5 March 2020 First death in the UK confirmed Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, announces that the UK is moving to the second stage of dealing with COVID-19, from the ‘containment’ to the ‘delay’ phase

9 March 2020 FTSE 100 plunges again by over 10%, its biggest drop since 1987, with other markets around the world being similarly affected by the ongoing economic turmoil UK Chief Medical Officers raise the risk to the UK from moderate to high The UK advises people to work from home if possible and to avoid visiting public places Public Health England stops performing contact tracing, as widespread infections overwhelm capacity

15 March 2020 Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that every UK resident over the age of 70 will be told ‘within the coming weeks’ to self-isolate for ‘a very long time’ to shield them from COVID-19

16 March 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson advises everyone in the UK against ‘non-essential’ travel and contact with others, to work from home if possible, and to avoid visiting social venues such as pubs, clubs or theatres. He urges pregnant women, people over the age of 70 and those with certain health conditions to consider the advice ‘particularly important’, and says they will be asked to self-isolate within days.