When Did COVID-19 Start in the World?
2019
Nov. 17: The first person is infected—a 55-year-old from Hubei Province—according to the South China Morning Post, citing government documents.
Dec. 1: According to the BBC, the earliest documented patient, a man in his 70s who was bedridden from a stroke, falls ill. He has no connection with the Wuhan seafood market. 
Dec. 8: The official account from the Chinese government confirms the first patient.
Mid-December: First evidence appears of human-to-human transmission among close contacts, according to a Jan. 29 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dec. 30: Dr. Li Wenliang of Wuhan shares the report with his former medical school classmates on WeChat, warning them to take precautionary measures….