Wow, what a year it has been. Although hard to believe, this time last year, America was just starting to lockdown from a mysterious virus in China. Little did we know then how much it would affect this nation and the lives all over the world. It’s so hard to comprehend the events of the last year but in this article, I will try to produce a timeline of events and landmarks surrounding the COVID pandemic in the US, the vast majority of them negative but recently, increasingly positive events have occurred. Let’s start on January 21, the day the CDC confirms the first case of COVID in the US, located in our neighboring county, Snohomish County.
January 21 – First confirmed COVID-19 case in the US.
January 31 – White House enacts travel ban for most foreign nationals who have visited China in the previous 14 days.
February 8 – First US citizen dies of COVID in Wuhan.
February 24 – US stock market plunges for the first time over COVID angst.
February 26 – California reports first COVID case in the US with no clear source of exposure.
February 29 – Former President Trump announces travel restrictions to Iran, Italy and South Korea.
February 29 – US records its first death from COVID-19, a man in his 50s in Washington State. March 6 – Former President Trump signs a $8.3 billion COVID emergency spending package. March 8 – Confirmed COVID cases in the US top 500.
March 11 – WHO says the coronavirus “can be characterized as a pandemic”.
March 11 – NBA becomes the first of many major sports leagues in the US to suspend all games.
March 11 – New restrictions are put in place on 26 countries in Europe, noticeably leaving out Ireland and the United Kingdom.
March 13 – Trump declares a national state of emergency that would free up $50 billion.
March 13 – Many states across the country first announce plans to close schools.
March 15 – White House announces they will add Ireland and the United Kingdom to the Europe travel ban.
March 15 – Confirmed COVID cases in the US top 3000.
March 16 – Wall Street falls again, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 12 percent by the end of the day.
March 16 – Canada announces it will close all of its borders to non-citizens, including to the US.
March 16 – First shot of an experimental vaccine is administered right here in Seattle.
March 20 – Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York, calls his city “the epicenter of the crisis”.
March 22 – Rand Paul of Kentucky becomes the first known senator to get COVID.
March 24 – COVID cases top 50,000 in US.
March 25 – Senate passes a $2 trillion stimulus package.
March 26 – Deaths of COVID in the US pass 1000.
March 26 – US COVID cases surpass China.
March 28 – FDA approves use of a new coronavirus test that takes less than 15 minutes.
April 2 – US Department of Labor releases startling figures showing 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits the past week.
April 2 – COVID deaths in US surpass 5000.
April 3 – CDC and White House first recommend wearing face masks.
April 9 – Second COVID vaccine trial begins in the US.
April 11 – COVID deaths in US surpass 20,000.
April 13 – FDA clears first COVID test that uses saliva.
April 17 – States begin loosening restrictions as Florida reopens some beaches and South Carolina reopens some boat ramps.
April 18 – COVID cases in US reach 700,000.
April 20 – Death toll in New York drops below 500 for the first time since April 2.
April 21 – Senate passes a roughly $500 billion COVID bill.
April 27 – JetBlue requires all passengers must wear a face covering on flights, the first US airline to do so.
April 28 – US covid cases reach 1 million.
May 1 – FDA grants emergency approval to remdesivir, a drug that may help people with severe COVID.
May 5 – Pfizer announces they are working on a COVID vaccine.
May 8 – Washington state allows more businesses to open.
May 10 – Covid Deaths in the US pass 80,000.
May 12 – Fauci warns of serious consequences if states reopen too quickly during a senate hearing.
May 14 – CDC releases guidance that businesses, schools and other organizations can use to reopen .
May 15 – President Trump announces team in charge of “Operation Warp Speed”.
May 15 – House passes $3 trillion stimulus package.
May 18 – More than 130,000 auto workers go into factories for the first time in 2 months
May 20 – CDC releases guidelines on what schools, restaurants and businesses can do to keep people safe.
May 25 – Joe Biden appears in public for the first time in more than 2 months to lay a wreath at the Delaware War Memorial on Memorial Day.
May 26 – New York Stock Exchanges trading floor reopens.
May 27 – US passes 100,000 COVID deaths.
May 29 – CDC reports COVID began spreading in the US as early as late January.
June 4 – FSA supplies $545 million in first payments to farmers from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
June 6 – COVID deaths in US surpass 110,000.
June 10 – COVID cases in US surpass 2 million.
July 7 – The United States officially notifies the UN of its withdrawal from the WHO.
July 23 – US hits its 4 millionth COVID case.
August 8 – US reaches its 5 millionth COVID case.
August 14 – CDC suggests that people who recover from COVID-19 have protection for 3 months.
September 10 – CDC releases report connecting dining out to an increased COVID risk. September 19 – US records 200,000th COVID death.
October 2 – President Trump tests positive for COVID.
November 4 – US records 100,000 cases for the first time.
November 8 – US tops 10 million COVID cases.
November 16 – Moderna announces its vaccine has a 94.5 percent efficacy rate.
November 18 – US records its 250,000 COVID death.
December 1 – Moderna announces it will submit its vaccine to the FDA for emergency approval.
December 8 – US surpasses 15 million COVID-19 cases.
December 11 – FDA gives Pfizer’s COVID vaccine emergency use authorization.
December 14 – Vaccine rollout begins across the country.
December 18 – FDA authorizes Moderna vaccine.
December 20 – Moderna vaccine begins distribution.
January 6 – CDC estimates there have been over 5 million COVID vaccinations. January 13 – CDC estimates there have been over 10 million COVID vaccinations.
January 15 – SBA renews Paycheck Protection Program.
January 20 – US surpasses 400,000 COVID deaths.
January 25 – US exceeds 25 million covid cases.
February 13 – CDC estimates there have been over 50 million COVID vaccinations.
February 24 – US hits the sobering 500,000th COVID death.
February 27 – FDA authorizes the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine.
March 11 – Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan into law.
March 12 – CDC estimates there have been over 100 million COVID vaccinations.
I hope you have enjoyed my timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US over the past year and while there have been many dark days over that time, more recent news has shown increasing optimism that indicates the darkest days of this dreadful disease may be in the past.
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