Pandemic March: COVID-19’s first wave circumnavigates the globe

By month’s end the worldwide geographic distribution of cases had been dramatically reshaped. COVID-19’s reach extended across six continents and all United Nations regions, with cases reported in 205 countries and territories. Although the tallies of confirmed cases and deaths will be eclipsed, and in fact dwarfed, in future months, it was during March 2020 that COVID-19 demonstrated its remarkable capacity to circumnavigate the planet. COVID19 became a worldwide threat with breathtaking speed. We examine patterns of confirmed cases globally, by United Nations Region, and by country, drawing from WHO daily situation reports throughout the month of March 2020, with particular focus on the reports issues on March 1 and April 1, 2020.1,2