evidence: There were also fears the virus could spread rapidly as hundreds of millions of people in China prepared to travel around the country for Chinese New Year. [...] By the end of the month, the toll had passed 100, with infections rising fast. It spread beyond Wuhan, both into other parts of China and to at least 16 countries around the world. [...] At that point, half the world's cases had been recorded in the US and Europe, but Covid-19 was rapidly growing in the Americas. The virus was also affecting South Asia and Africa, where it was not expected to peak until the end of July.