America Shut Down On This Day 4 Years Ago Due To Covid-19: A Pandemic Timeline
It started as a two-week extended spring break for college students. Then social distancing, gatherings of six or fewer, masks, and essential workers, Covid-19 changed America four years ago today.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a state of emergency after three Ohioans had tested positive for the virus. He banned gatherings of more than 100 people, Ohio schools would have a three-week spring break, and most public spaces besides parks were prohibited a few days later.
Soon after, the rest of the nation followed suit.
Here's a timeline of how the virus changed the nation - and the world, forever.
December 31, 2019
The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office in China is informed of several cases of patients reporting symptoms including shortness of breath and fever occurring.
January 7, 2020
"Public health officials in China identify a novel coronavirus as the causative agent of the outbreak," according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The first reported case of COVID-19 in the U.S. confirmed in Washington state also occurred in January.
March 11, 2020
The World Health Organization officially deems COVID-19 a pandemic.
March 18, 2020
The first death due to the virus was confirmed. The following day, non-essential businesses were ordered to close.
April 3, 2020
At a White House press briefing, CDC announces new mask-wearing guidelines and recommends that all people wear a mask when outside of the home.
April 24, 2020
Georgia, Alaska, and Oklahoma have begun to partially reopen their states despite concerns from health experts saying it was too early to reopen.
June 8, 2020
The World Bank predicts that the COVID-19 pandemic will plunge the global economy into the worst recession since World War II.
March 13, 2021
More than 100 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in America.
According to data from the CDC, as of the week ending March 2, over 15,000 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 are recorded weekly.
More than 6 million Americans have been hospitalized.
The coronavirus has killed at least 1.18 million people in the U.S. alone.
