America’s COVID-19 Debacle: A Chronology
Today we’re unveiling our #COVIDChronology, a comprehensive and thoroughly documented timeline of key events and milestones to date in the #COVID19 crisis. Use this thread as a resource and guide.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the globe, no country has been hit harder than the United States. America leads the world in Covid-19 deaths and confirmed cases. Unemployment has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression, and national output has cratered as lockdowns have put the formerly robust  U.S. economy into a self-induced coma. 

At this writing, more than 117,000 Americans have been killed by the virus, nearly three times as many fatalities as Brazil, which has just overtaken the United Kingdom to rank second in virus-related deaths. The United States accounts for about 27 percent of  global deaths. We have nearly 2.2 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, more than twice as many as Brazil (852,000 cases).

Since mid-March, when the shutdown began, 44 million Americans have filed for state unemployment benefits. Untold numbers of small businesses have gone under, and many more are treading water. The U.S. economy shrank by 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, and economists forecast that U.S. output could decline by an annualized rate of 40 percent in the second quarter. 

It is also worth noting that the pandemic has injured some groups more than others. Most vulnerable have been older Americans, health care workers and those, often immigrants, working in “essential” industries like meat-packing and chicken-processing. Black Americans have suffered disproportionately, as have minority-owned businesses. In general, layoffs have been heaviest in low-paid service jobs, while office workers have often been able to keep working remotely.

Now, with an eye to the upcoming November election, President Trump and his party are trying to shift the blame, and convince the public the debacle they have been witnessing is a mirage. 

To enable Americans to judge for themselves, the Progressive Policy Institute has assembled this comprehensive and thoroughly documented chronology of key events and milestones to date in the Covid-19 crisis. As it continues to unfold, we will update this historical record as necessary. If readers think we have missed any important events or information, please notify us at [email protected].