evidence: The first human cases of COVID-19 occurred in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, on or about 17 November 2019.[2] The first human case in the United States was on 21 January 2020. The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and first referred to it as a pandemic on 11 March 2020.[3][4] The WHO ended the PHEIC on 5 May 2023.[5]