First official alert about coronavirus was sent by Wuhan on this day 6 years ago

Health authorities in Wuhan, China, had issued an urgent alert reporting cases of an unidentified pneumonia on December 31, 2019. The alert, sent by Wuhan Municipal Health Commission to domestic medical institutions, described several patients with severe respiratory symptoms of unknown origin. Within days, the illness was traced to a seafood market. A novel coronavirus was eventually identified.