365 days of the coronavirus pandemic
Peoples’ lives changed forever on this day last year as the deadly coronavirus pandemic led officials to tell people to stay home, shut down businesses, close schools, cancel events, and more. One year later, more than 500,000 people have died of the virus across the U.S., including more than 16,000 Massachusetts residents.
There is some hope, however, as the vaccine rollout ramps up and will open up to the general population this spring. Here’s a look back at the coronavirus timeline in Massachusetts:
□ MARCH 10, 2020: Gov. Charlie Baker declares a state of emergency as the number of coronavirus cases in Massachusetts more than doubled overnight to 92. Baker urges companies to have their employees work from home.
□ MARCH 10, 2020: Boston area colleges, including Harvard and MIT, tell students to leave campus as schools move online.
□ MARCH 13, 2020: Baker bans most events with more than 250 people across the state. Those gatherings include community, civic, sporting events with spectators, concerts, conventions, fundraisers, parades, fairs and festivals.
□ MARCH 13, 2020: The Boston Marathon is postponed to Sept. 14. The in-person race was eventually canceled, and there was a virtual run instead. Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled earlier in the week.
□ MARCH 15, 2020: Baker orders a sweeping set of restrictions, including closing schools and banning people from eating out at restaurants. The governor also issues a reduction in the maximum gathering size from 250 to 25. Baker bans visitors at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, and orders hospitals to screen and limit visitors and cancel elective surgeries and procedures.
□ MARCH 16, 2020: The first injection of an experimental coronavirus vaccine developed by Cambridgebased Moderna is administered.
□ MARCH 20, 2020: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports the state’s first coronavirus death — a man in his 80s from Suffolk County.
□ MARCH 30, 2020: State officials confirm a massive virus outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, which leads to firings and investigations. The facility has reported 77 veteran deaths since the pandemic started.
□ MAY 1, 2020: Baker orders everyone out in public and inside businesses to wear masks. Many cities had implemented face-mask orders in April. □ MAY 18, 2020: The governor announces a staggered start to opening up the economy — kicking off with manufacturing, construction and houses of worship. The Phase 1 reopening continues a week later with restrictions eased on office spaces, hair salons, barbershops, car washes, and curbside pick-up for retail stores. Restaurants and gyms had to keep waiting for weeks.
□ DEC. 11, 2020: The FDA approves an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, and the first shots arrive in Boston a few days later. Moderna’s vax was approved a week later. Healthcare workers and those in nursing homes were prioritized in Massachusetts, helping drive down hospitalizations. It has been a mad dash to score vax appointments for many across the state since.
□ FEB. 25, 2021: Baker lifts many business restrictions and said fans will be allowed back into sports venues including the TD Garden, Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium.