First coronavirus pandemic

The first coronavirus pandemic was COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019), which was classified as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020. The disease first emerged in November or December 2019, and was reported to the WHO on 31 Dec 2019. Coronaviruses have been responsible for disease outbreaks in the past, but the largest – SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2003 and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in 2012 – were both contained before they could spread beyond the region in which they were discovered.

These diseases are all caused by infection with a type of virus that is distinguished by its crown (or "corona") of spike proteins. The viruses that caused SARS and COVID-19 are closely related (they're called SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 respectively). The World Health Organization defines a pandemic as "an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people".