One million coronavirus deaths: how did we get here?

Though an inevitable milestone for months, its arrival is still breathtaking.

Deaths from Covid-19 exceeded 1 million people on Tuesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University database, the known toll of nine relentless months of a pandemic that has changed everything, from global balances of power to the mundane aspects of daily life.

The figure can only hint at the immeasurable grief of the friends, partners, parents and children of those who have died, many isolated in hospital wards, and buried or cremated without traditional funerals. In a year defined by loss, these 1 million people and their loved ones have lost the most.

The road to 1 million confirmed deaths started in December, with doctors in a central Chinese city noticing a pattern of strange illnesses surrounding a live-animal market. By the middle of January, people were dying every day. Since 18 March, the daily toll has not fallen below 1,000.

Behind every increase, there was a life.

In the final hours of 2019, health authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan announced the discovery of a “pneumonia of unknown cause”. Within a month, the death toll was 131 people.

Chen checked in to a Wuhan hospital with a fever on 12 January.

It was the day after the newly discovered coronavirus had recorded its first victim, while Chinese authorities were still claiming there was no evidence the virus could spread between humans.

Chen, whose family asked that only her family name be used, was a warm-hearted, outgoing and friendly 65-year-old with a strong sense of justice, said her stepson Huang*. If she saw someone jumping a queue or a tour guide misbehaving, she would leap to act. Five years into her retirement after a career