Outbreak of Covid-19 Pandemic to First Vaccine and Much More in Between, 2020 in Photos

In January 2020, the novel coronavirus had already raised its ugly head in Wuhan, China – which is largely considered to be the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. In the photo, medical staff members bring a patient to the Red Cross hospital in Wuhan, China. Photo: AFP

Yes, January may have been the beginning of the pandemic year – but there was something else that took the cake that month. It was Hollywood’s once-power couple, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. After bagging SAG Awards in their respective categories, the exes met back stage and congratulated each other. And fans absolutely lost it. Photo: Twitter

Who can forget these visuals? The US President Donald Trump's third State of Union speech in February ended in a dramatic twist, with the House Speaker ripping up a copy of Trump's speech on live television. On asking why she indulged in such an action, Nancy Pelosi said, "Courteous thing to do considering the alternative". As per reports, the action was the outcome of Trump's earlier snubbing of Pelosi's handshake and him delivering a speech without a single mention of impeachment. She went on to add, "It was a manifesto of mistruths." Photo: Agencies

Bong Joon Ho's Parasite also created history in February by being the first non-English movie to win Oscars in four categories — Best Screenplay, Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay. The South Korean director also bagged the best director for it. While South Korea has burst into fits of joy having home its first Oscar, the world too rejoiced such a heartwarming triumph. Photo: AFP

This photo of an isolated Muslim man being beaten by a group of people during the riots that erupted in Northeast Delhi in February this year became a symbol of the horrifying violence that the national capital witnessed. It was also listed as Reuters photo of the year for 2020. Photo: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Shahrukh Pathan had been caught on tape pointing a gun at a policeman during the riots in north-east Delhi in February. The 23-year-old’s photograph, which showed him holding a gun on the streets of Jafrabad-Maujpur road in north-east Delhi, had gone viral on social media. Photo: PTI

In March, photos and videos of the empty Kaaba in Mecca went viral. In this photo, the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, is nearly empty because of coronavirus restrictions in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is normally surrounded by thousands of people. Photo: AFP

In March, the Indian government imposed a 14 hour curfew before the country went into a nationwide lockdown on the 23rd. A monkey crosses the road near India's Presidential Palace during a 14-hour long curfew to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, New Delhi, India, March 22, 2020. Photo: Reuters

People stand on their balconies and light candles after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Indians to turn out their lights for nine minutes at 9 p.m. to mark the coronavirus fight, during a lockdown to slow the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Mumbai, India, April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

In April, New York became the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the US. Back then, photos showed authorities burying unclaimed bodies at a rapid pace to clear space in the city's morgues where mortal remains of coronavirus patients were piling up. A report in The New York Times said every Thursday was burial day on Hart Island, the final resting place off the Bronx for New York City's unclaimed dead. Photo: Reuters

In May, 'Black Lives Matter' protests gained momentum across the United States, and then eventually the rest of the world following George Floyd's death on May 25. Photo: Reuters

Washington mayor Muriel Bowser in June renamed an area near the White House that has become the epicenter of anti-racism protests over the past week "Black Lives Matter Plaza" -- unveiling a giant street mural. Photo: Reuters

A statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune from trading in West African slaves, was pulled down and thrown in the harbour in June by anti-racism protesters demonstrating in the wake of the death of African-American George Floyd. A sculpture of a Black protester with her fist raised in the air has been erected in its place in Britain's port city of Bristol. Photo: Agencies

Trump flew by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Washington to meet wounded service members and health care providers caring for COVID-19 patients. As he left the White House, he told reporters: “When you're in a hospital, especially ... I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask." Photo: AP

A huge explosion in a port warehouse district near the centre of Beirut killed more than 25 people, injured over 2,500 others and sent shockwaves across the Lebanese capital in August, shattering windows and causing apartment balconies to collapse. Photo: AP

A farmer in Switzerland cared so much for his cow that he decided to get it airlifted when it was walking with a limp in August. He got the cow airlifted by a helicopter from a mountain in the Swiss alps so that the animal did not sustain more injuries. Photo: YouTube

While playing at the Arthur Ashe Stadium against Spain's Pablo Carreno-Busta in the Round of 16, it was decided that Novak Djokovic will be disqualified. After he had squandered three points, he became increasingly frustrated and lost his cool. He swatted a ball reasonably hard to the back of the court and inadvertently struck a female line judge, later identified as Laura Clark, on her throat. Djokovic, realising his fault immediately, rushed to check up on her and apologised as the line judge fell out of her chair screaming in pain. Further reports suggested that Clark did not suffer serious injuries in the mishap. This went on to become one of the most viral moments captured on camera in September. Photo: AP

Fires in California create an orange, glowing skyline as smoke from the state's wildfires traveled into the upper atmosphere and blocked the sunlight, creating a glow across the region in September. Photo: AP

US President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus and had to be hospitalised in October. Back then, Trump had stepped out from the hospital briefly to wave to his supporters. The move has been seen as the President continuing to disregard basic precautions to contain the virus that has killed millions of Americans. Photo: AFP

Italian farmer Cristian Mallocci could not believe his eyes when Spelacchia, one of his eight dogs, gave birth to a green-furred puppy. The tiny dog, immediately named Pistachio, was part of a five-dog litter born on Oct. 9, all with white fur, the same colour as their mixed breed mum. Except him. Photo: Reuters

Diego Maradona, one of world’s greatest footballers, passed away due to heart failure at the age of 60. It has been decades since soccer legend Diego Maradona played for Naples in Italy, but he is all over the city – in nooks and corners of the city, murals of the football legend has cropped up. Photo: AP

Utah’s Department of Public Safety officers stumbled upon a mysterious monolith in the middle of rural countryside in late November. Four days later, the monolith disappeared. The Bureau of Land Management posted an official statement saying that the structure was possibly removed by an "unknown party" at night. Since then multiple monoliths have cropped up in different locations around the world. Photo: AP

Donald Trump was busy keeping himself entertained with golf when news networks were announcing Democrat leader Joe Biden's win in the race to the White House in November. The former president of the US left the White House morning as the last crucial vote counts were about to come in from Pennsylvania and a few other battleground states. So Trump, who is known for regularly hitting the links, headed across the Potomac River to the Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Virginia. Photo: Reuters

Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old grandmother became the first person in the world to receive Covid-19 vaccine outside of a trial. Photo: Reuters