SAN DIEGO — This week marks one year since the first case of coronavirus was detected in the United States. So much has happened over the past 12 months. What started as an alert about a new virus that made its way from China into the US, has since exploded into a pandemic, impacting millions of people worldwide.
"This is a rapidly evolving situation and we're gaining more knowledge every day," a CDC official said.
December 31, 2019: Chinese authorities alerted the World Health Organization.
January 21, 2020: The CDC confirmed a Washington state man who recently traveled to Wuhan had the virus, making it the first known case in the US.
January 31, 2020: The Trump administration declared a public health emergency.
March 4, 2020: California declared a state of emergency.
March 11, 2020: The World Health Organization categorized COVID-19 as a pandemic.
At the time, former San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer said, "What we do tonight and what we do tomorrow, what we do next week really will affect what happens next."
March 19, 2020: What did happen next in California was a stay at home order. Businesses were forced to shut down. Corporations told employees to work remotely. Students and teachers also transitioned from the classroom to teaching remotely from their homes.
UCSD student Ryan Beatty told News 8, "It's definitely not the same online and I just really miss the in-person classes."
August 2020: San Diego saw some improvements in the COVID-19 data moving the county to the red tier and schools and businesses were allowed to reopen.
November 2020: San Diego County moved back in the most restrictive purple tier, implementing closures once again.
One local bar owner said, "We didn't get any relief from our landlord."
To date, there have been more than 219,000 confirmed cases in San Diego County and more than 2,200 people have died.
The US death toll stands at 406,000. Worldwide, it’s over two million.
