YEAR OF COVID
At first ignored, now a disaster
On Jan. 17, 2020, America’s attention was far from focused on news that would dominate for the rest of the year.
With the impeachment trial of President Trump, the aftermath of the shooting of a Ukrainian jetliner in Iran and the Democratic presidential primaries, little notice was paid to one headline on the Daily News’ website noting a mysterious new virus.
“3 U.S. airports, including JFK, to screen for virus from China,” the headline stated.
It was the first time the word “coronavirus” appeared in The News in reference to the deadly strain later named COVID-19.
The story described an announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about safety measures at three of America’s busiest international airports — Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York’s JFK. The three gateways would begin screening passengers for the “potentially fatal virus” that weekend.
It also described how Chinese officials had reported 45 cases and two deaths during an outbreak in
Wuhan, a busy metropolis in China’s Hubei province.
“This is a serious situation,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said in a telephone briefing at the time, adding that the risk to Americans wasn’t high.
She was right about the virus’ seriousness, and wrong about its risk.
One year and nearly 2 million worldwide deaths later, the virus continues to spread, devastating families and forcing lockdowns and curfews in many parts of the globe.
The U.S. leads the world in the number of infections, with more than 23 million confirmed cases, and has the highest death toll — nearly 400,000 lives lost since the pandemic began.