It has been over a year since the coronavirus caused lockdowns all over the U.S, and the world. Living through a pandemic for an entire year has proved to be detrimental to some, and loosely beneficial to others. It has been a battle no matter how you look at it, and an eventful one at that. 

Excitement surged the country on January first of 2020, as many had high hopes for the new year and decade. The coronavirus wasn’t globally known and mass crowds celebrated without precaution. The U.S was isolated from talk of the virus until January ninth, when the World Health Organization (WHO), announced vague information in relation to a strange disease rooting in Wuhan China. Twelve days later, on the 21st of January, the CDC confirmed the first U.S. case. The fear of the unknown commenced, and panic set in because it was real now. It was no longer a virus overseas, but in our own country. 

The eleventh case in the U.S. was confirmed on February second, by the Public Health Services in San Benito County, and it seemed as though the pandemic was beginning to spread quickly. No Americans died as a result of the virus until the sixth of February. In Wuhan, npr reported that an american man had passed away, in the hotspot of the virus. At this point, a lot of money was being donated in support of research and resources by the American government. February was the month of awareness, as many began to educate themselves on the whereabouts of the virus.

On March first, the New York Times reported the second U.S. death caused by the coronavirus, and CNN announced the global death toll to be over 3000. WHO then declared Covid-19 a pandemic officially on March 11th, resulting in Trump declaring it a national emergency just two days later. The following week of March 7-13, was an incredibly impactful and startling time for everybody and society as a whole. According to  thinkglobal health, during that week one fifth of students worldwide were out of school, the NBA canceled its season, and quarantine began. It’s important to acknowledge that at this point, many people believed that after two weeks the pandemic would drastically improve, and everything would go back to normal. As we all know now that was definitely not the case. March marked the beginning of what we now know as living through a pandemic, such as going everywhere with masks, and social distancing. It’s all routine now, but it was uncharted territory then. 

The next few months were spent isolating from the public and completing school and professional work online. All sports and events were cancelled or postponed, and life was essentially just staying at home. As described in the Washington Post, the U.S surpassed Italy for the most deaths attributed to the virus in mid April; additionally, on May 28th the CDC announced that the U.S had passed the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths. The United States became the epicenter of the virus, for the remainder of the once anticipated year, that was 2020.

As vaccines are being released, it seems as though progress has been made since the beginning of this deadly virus. Optimism is important when predicting how the rest of the year will go, and it’s necessary if progress is to be made. If the rules and regulations that are put in place are followed, maybe next year we won’t be in the same situation, and the anniversary of the virus will be a celebration.