In late 2019, an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus—now known as COVID-19—simmered for weeks in Wuhan, China before claiming its first victim on January 10, 2020. Dataminr first detected the outbreak of COVID-19 within public social media posts at 9:11 a.m. EST on Dec 30, 2019, providing clients with the earliest warning in advance of the U.S. government’s announcement 7 days later.
