Two years ago: Thailand reports first case of Covid-19 outside China

On 13 January 2020, Thailand reported that a Wuhan resident who travelled to Bangkok on 8 January had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

This was the first COVID-19 case detected outside China. Over the next several weeks, 14 further cases were detected in travelers from China before Thailand’s first non-imported, locally transmitted COVID-19 case was reported on 31 January.

Outside China, Thailand was the first country to detect a case of COVID-19, 10 days after authorities reported a cluster of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan.

Censorship in China helped spread the pandemic

At the beginning of the year, it was clear something unprecedented was happening. Thousands of messages of public outrage appeared on Chinese social media, asking whether local governments were covering up another Sars-like virus.

Reporters Without…