A Novel Coronavirus Timeline From December 2019 Until Now -- From China To Texas
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) — Most people had no idea that New Year's Eve 2019 would be the beginning of a pandemic that would flip the world upside-down.
It was on December 31 last year when Chinese officials pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan due to an unknown source.
By early January that source was identified and given a name-- the Novel Coronavirus.
By the end of the month Wuhan had been shut down, president Trump banned travel from China into the U.S. and the first known case in the U.S. is reported.
In February, the rapid spread of the virus forced shut downs and quarantines throughout Europe.
The DFW region recorded it's first positive case on March 9.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends no large gatherings, and then we begin to shut down.
In April, U.S. cases surged more than 1 million -- the financial strain hit hard with 10 million Americans out of work. The global death toll surpassed 200,000 and airlines begin mandating masks.
By May, North Texas gets its first anti-body approved tests for the public. July saw testing become widely available in the U.S., and vaccine trials begin.
The following month President Donald Trump who initial called the virus a hoax is quoted as saying, "It is what it is," in regards to the rising death toll.
By September the global death toll sits at 1 million.
October would see the President test positive for the virus only to return to the white house days later after being treated at Walter Reid hospital. That same month the world recorded 1 million new cases in a 3 day span.
In November, amidst a heated election won by Joe Biden, and second wave of cases Pfizer and Moderna report their vaccines are 95% effective.
In early December, the vaccines receive emergency authorization use and distribution begins with frontline healthcare workers and those who are most vulnerable.
Nearly a year later the end to the pandemic seems to be in sight but not before the world health organization reported more than 81 million cases across resulting in nearly 1.8 million deaths around the globe with the U.S. leading all numbers of cases.
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