COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

• 1. The First American Case

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  On January 20, the first report of a COVID-19 case in the U.S. appeared publicly. The World Health Organization and China confirmed human-to-human transmission on that same day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immediately activated its Emergency Operations Center to respond to the outbreak in Wuhan. By February 6, the earliest confirmed American death occurred in Santa Clara County, California. That patient was a 57-year-old woman whose death went unreported by the CDC until April 21. Nine other deaths had already happened in Santa Clara County by that time. The virus had been circulating undetected at least since early January and possibly as early as November.

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• 2. Travel Restrictions And Testing Limits

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  On February 2, the United States enacted travel restrictions to and from China. The Trump administration evacuated American nationals from Wuhan earlier that month. On March 13, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. The government purchased large quantities of medical equipment using the Defense Production Act of 1950. By mid-April, all states and territories issued disaster declarations due to increasing cases. However, available test kits remained limited throughout March and early April. Only four states used contact tracing apps by the 1st of July 2020. Congress allocated $631 million for state and local health surveillance programs, but experts estimated $3.6 billion would be needed.

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• 3. The Alpha And Delta Surges

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  A fourth rise in infections began in March 2021 with the Alpha variant first detected in the United Kingdom. The CDC announced on the 6th of January 2021, that it found at least 52 confirmed cases of this variant. By April 7, the Alpha strain became dominant in the U.S. A new double mutant SARS-CoV-2 variant from India appeared in California on April 12. This mutation later became known as the Delta variant. By the 7th of July 2021, Delta surpassed Alpha to become the dominant strain. In August, Delta accounted for 99 percent of all cases and doubled the risk of hospitalization for unvaccinated people. Hospitals in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Texas exceeded 90% ICU capacity by late August.

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• 4. Omicron Record Hospitalizations

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  On the 26th of November 2021, President Biden announced travel restrictions from South Africa due to concerns over a new variant called Omicron. That variant was discovered in South Africa earlier that month. At the beginning of January 2022, daily case numbers exceeded one million. As of February 1, fatality rates were 63% higher in the U.S. than other large wealthy countries. On the 4th of May 2022, the U.S. death toll reached one million, the largest recorded death toll in any single country. The White House confirmed this mark with a presidential proclamation ordering flags flown at half-staff through May 16. By early 2022, as many as 1.5 million new infections were reported in a single day during the Omicron wave.

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• 5. Economic Contraction And Job Losses

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  The pandemic led to a recession following an economic cycle peak in February 2020. The economy contracted 4.8 percent from January through March 2020. The unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent in April. During the second quarter of 2020, GDP fell at an annualized rate of 32.9 percent. As of June 2020, the U.S. economy remained over ten percent smaller than it was in December 2019. OpenTable estimated that 25 percent of American restaurants would close permanently by May 2020. A report by Yelp found about sixty percent of closed businesses would stay shut forever. An analysis by the Aspen Institute indicated 30 to 40 million people faced eviction risk by year-end 2020.

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• 6. Disproportionate Racial Mortality Rates

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  Of four studies published in September 2020, three found clear disparities due to race and the fourth found slightly better survival rates for Hispanics and Blacks. By the 15th of September 2020, Black Americans had COVID-19 mortality rates more than twice as high as White and Asian populations. CNN reported in May 2020 that the Navajo Nation held the highest infection rate in the United States. In June 2021, the CDC confirmed American Indian or Alaska Native persons had the highest hospitalization and death rates. Hispanic and Latino persons suffered the highest infection rates compared to White persons in many states. From 2019 to 2020, life expectancy dropped three years for Hispanic Americans and 2.9 years for African Americans.

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• 7. Partisan Divides And Mask Debates

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  In February 2020, similar numbers of Democrats and Republicans believed COVID-19 was a real threat at 70 percent and 72 percent respectively. By mid-March 2020, 76 percent of Democrats viewed it as a real threat while only 40 percent of Republicans agreed. A May 2020 poll concluded 54 percent felt the federal government did a poor job stopping spread. The CDC remained the most trusted source at 85 percent followed by the WHO at 77 percent. Trump received only 46 percent trust rating. On the 18th of April 2022, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle ended the federal transportation mask mandate nationwide. Missouri's Republican governor pressured Saint Louis to cancel its city employee mandate less than 24 hours after issuance on January 5.

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