A man is tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus in Nanjing in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on June 15, 2020.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
The World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11 — 100 days ago.
As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, has devastated populations, as medical professionals, government officials, and scientists and researchers alike rush to understand it.
Here’s how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it in a matter of 100 days.
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The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic 100 days ago on March 11. In a little more than three months, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000.
The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, spread to nearly every continent, as doctors and nurses treat hundreds of patients per shift. Government officials scrambled to not only support their constituents, but also to implement ways to stem the rapidly spreading virus.
Parts of the world plunged into unprecedented lockdowns, shuttering businesses and keeping people physically distant from one another, leading to economic decline.
In the last few weeks, some restrictions have been lifted in a bid to restore normalcy in a pandemic-ridden world. But in light of reopening efforts, experts are concerned that the world could once again face the dark reality it faced at the early beginnings of the pandemic.
In a matter of 100 days, the coronavirus has devastated populations around the world, and there doesn’t yet seem to be an end in sight as scientists rush to develop a vaccine.
Here’s how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it:
March 11: The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2008.
FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
The WHO was first aware of the novel coronavirus that was sweeping across regions of China in early January and declared it an emergency at the end of January.
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According to a timeline from WHO, by March 11 the organization was “Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction,” which led it to declare COVID-19 a pandemic.
March 13: President Donald Trump declared a national emergency after weeks of downplaying the coronavirus and comparing it to the flu.
President Donald Trump.
Associated Press
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March 16: Dow plunges 2,997 points in the worst drop since 1987 amid coronavirus fears.
stock market
Getty Images / Kiyoshi Ota
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March 19: China reports its first day without any new domestic coronavirus cases. California becomes the first state to implement a statewide “stay-at-home” order.
A Chinese police officer in front of the portrait of Nationalist founder Sun Yat-sen at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
China was the original epicenter of the novel coronavirus, and parts of the country were under lockdown for more than 70 days.
While some cities and states had implemented some form of restrictions to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, California became the first state to implement a statewide “stay-at-home” order.
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March 23: New York emerges as the new epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the US.
coronavirus new york
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
While the first case in the US may date back to December 2019, and cases were first reported in Washington state, by March New York state was the epicenter in the US.
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March 26: The US surpasses China and Italy as the hardest-hit country by the coronavirus.
Healthcare workers walk outside NYU Langone Medical Center on 1st Avenue in Manhattan after people came to cheer and thank them, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, April 20, 2020.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
China, followed by Italy were the two countries initially hit hardest by the novel coronavirus.
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March 27: Trump signs the CARES Act, an unprecedented $2 trillion stimulus package into law to boost the economy and support Americans in the midst of lockdowns.
President Donald Trump after signing the CARES Act in the Oval Office of the White House.
Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images
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March 31: More than one-third of the world went under some type of lockdown in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The Colosseum, that will be closed following the government’s new prevention measures on public gatherings, is reflected in a puddle where a face mask was left, in Rome, Sunday, March 8, 2020. Italy announced a sweeping quarantine early Sunday for its northern regions, igniting travel chaos as it restricted the movements of a quarter of its population in a bid to halt the new coronavirus’ relentless march across Europe.
Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP
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April 2: Global coronavirus cases surpass one million.
A medical worker takes a swab from a resident for the novel coronavirus test during community on May 15, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei, China.
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April 6: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to intensive care after contracting COVID-19. He has since recovered.
Boris Johnson
Getty
Source: Twitter
April 7: About 95% of Americans were subject to stay-at-home orders.
The Chicago Cloud Gate sculpture (a.k.a. The Bean) in Millennium Park is closed to visitors on March 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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April 9: The state of New York alone had the highest number of coronavirus cases than any country in the world.
empty streets new york coronavirus
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April 23: Trials for COVID-19 vaccines begin in the UK.
Screen grab taken from video issued by Britain’s Oxford University, showing a person being injected as part of the first human trials in the UK to test a potential coronavirus vaccine, taken by Oxford University in England, Thursday April 23, 2020
Oxford University Pool via AP
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April 24: Alaska lifts its “stay-at-home” order.
The floor of George M. Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, Alaska on March 21. It has been converted to shelters for Anchorage’s homeless population.
Matt Waliszek of Orzel Photography/Reuters
Other states began lifting their orders in the weeks and months after. By Friday, June 19, all 50 states were in some stage of reopening.
May 12: Lebanon reissues a “total” lockdowns as coronavirus cases increase.
A waiter takes an order at an outdoor terrace of a restaurant in Beirut, Lebanon on May 11, 2020. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
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May 20: Sweden recorded the most coronavirus deaths in Europe per capita in the span of a week.
A big sticker of the healthcare services of Sweden is placed on a pavement in the heart of Stockholm to instruct people to follow the 2 meters rule to reduce the risk of getting sick on May 4, 2020 during the new coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.
JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images
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May 27: More than 100,000 Americans died of the coronavirus in the US.
Michael Neel, funeral director of of All Veterans Funeral and Cremation, wearing full PPE, looks at the U.S. flag on the casket of George Trefren, a 90 year old Korean War veteran who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a nursing home, in Denver, Colorado, April 23, 2020.
Rick Wilking/Reuters
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June 4: Iran recorded its largest single-day case total to date, even as the country struggles to recover from its first wave.
An Iranian woman wears a protective mask in the capital Tehran on March 4, 2020.
Getty Images
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June 16: New Zealand recorded two new coronavirus cases from UK travelers after more than three weeks of zero reported cases.
Police stop vehicles to heading north on state highway one at Warkworth on April 09, 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand. With New Zealand in lockdown due to COVID-19, police are setting up checkpoints across the country to ensure people on the roads are travelling for essential purposes only. The Easter long weekend is a popular time for New Zealanders to go on holiday, however current Level 4 restrictions in place due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic requires everyone to remain at the place of residence they were in as of midnight 25 March when New Zealand went into lockdown.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
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June 16: Brazil records the highest record of new coronavirus cases and is set on a track to overcome the US as the hardest-hit country by the end of July.
Aerial view of coffins being buried at an area where new graves have been dug at the Parque Taruma cemetery, during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on April 21, 2020.
MICHAEL DANTAS/AFP via Getty Images
As of Friday, June 19, the country had over 1 million cases and over 48,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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June 16: Six states in the US announced record increases in coronavirus cases in a single day amid reopening efforts.
Staff of “Food and Friends,” a food distribution service for people with life-challenging illnesses, practice social distancing by standing a clear distance apart as they listen to District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speak about the city’s response to the coronavirus, Monday, March 16, 2020, during a news conference in Washington.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
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June 18: Beijing enters a ‘soft lockdown’ as coronavirus cases spike prompting concern.
Coronavirus beijing
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