First Case of COVID in United States, 1/20/20

On January 20, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was found in the United States.

"Following a rapid spread from its origin in Wuhan, China, the first U.S. case of the 2019 novel coronavirus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19, is confirmed in a man from Washington State on January 20, 2020.

"The virus, which would spark a pandemic, was first reported in China on December 31, 2019. Halfway across the world, on January 19, a man who had returned home to Snohomish County, Washington near Seattle on January 15, after traveling to Wuhan, checked into an urgent care clinic after seeing reports about the outbreak. 

"Experiencing a cough, fever, nausea and vomiting, the Centers for Disease Control announced on January 20 that the 35-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19. He was hospitalized, where his condition grew worse and he developed pneumonia. His symptoms abated 10 days later.

"In the following months, the Seattle area became the epicenter of an early U.S. outbreak. 39 residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, died from complications from the virus in one four-week span. In some cases, people who died from COVID-19 in January 2020, but didn’t know it at the time, had their death certificate amended to show they died from the virus.

"According to the CDC, 14 U.S. coronavirus cases were noted by public health agencies between January 21 and February 23, 2020; all patients had traveled to China. The first non-travel case was confirmed in California on February 26, and the first U.S. death was reported on February 29.

"As the virus quickly marched across the country, businesses, schools and social gatherings were largely shut down, while, by May, unemployment rates reached their highest levels since the Great Depression.

"Spreading to almost every country, more than 662 million people have contracted the virus worldwide, and 6.7 million have died from it. The first U.S. vaccinations for COVID-19 were administered on December 14, 2020. By early 2023, 101 million cases and more than 1 million deaths from the virus had been reported in the U.S. alone."

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Thank goodness there was a quick response to a deadly new virus, or we would have lost even more people than we did. Thank goodness in 2020 we didn't have the reckless "it's only a cold" and "you do you" mentality we have today. Everyone did their part 4 years ago to minimize the death and destruction despite no available vaccines.

The horrible suffering inn nursing homes and hospitals has abated thanks to the vaccines, but unfortunately the public has become more selfish, rude, and apathetic since then.

Keep your guard up -- COVID is still with us in 2024.