This timeline has been compiled primarily from timelines prepared by the New York Times and Washington Post. DT refers to statements by President Donald Trump; WH to statements issued by the White House; CDC to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention; WHO to the World Health Organization.[i]
07 Apr US death toll exceeds 10,500
31 Mar US Death toll from COVID-19 surpasses death toll of 9/11
29 Mar DT extends national shutdown through April 30th acknowledging US death toll could surpass 100,000.
24 Mar DT announces “I’d love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter.” Tokyo Olympics postponed.
17 Mar DT: “I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic.” [US deaths total 108]
16 Mar DT recommends gathering of less than 10 people
15 Mar DCD recommends gatherings of no more than 50 people
15 Mar DT: “This is a very contagious virus. It’s incredible. But it’s something we have tremendous control over.” [US deaths total 63]
13 Mar DT declares national emergency
10 Mar DT: “We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.”
06 Mar Epidemiologists warn WH epidemic could resemble 1918 Influenza infecting more than 80% of Americans with more than 2 million deaths. [US death total: 11][ii]
04 Mar DT: “Some people will have this a very light level… There are many people like that.” [US deaths total 28]
03 Mar Ninth death in US occurs; CDC lifts restrictions on COVID 19 testing [US death total: 9]
29 Feb WH warns against travel to certain countries
28 Feb DT: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” First US death reported.
24 Feb WH requests $1.25 billion for Covid-19
24 Feb DT: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA… Stock Market starting to look very good to me!”
10 Feb DT predicts “Looks like by April… it miraculously goes away.”
07 Feb Dr. Li Wenliang dies of Covid-19 after having tried to raise early alarms and being reprimanded by Chinese government
02 Feb First confirmed death outside China
31 Jan US restricts travel from China
30 Jan WHO declares global health emergency
29 Jan WH advisor Peter Navarro warns COVID-19 threatened millions of Americans and could cost trillions of dollars[iii]
22 Jan DT assures nation “We have it totally under control… It’s going to be just fine.”
21 Jan First confirmed case in U.S.
11 Jan First confirmed death in China.
07 Jan The coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) was identified as the causative virus by Chinese authorities on 7 January (2020).[iv]
31 Dec On 31 December 2019, WHO was informed of a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China.[v]
2019 US President Donald Trump eliminated a key American public health position in Beijing that was intended to help detect disease outbreaks in China[vi]
2018 DT disbands National Security Council pandemic response team (the Global Health Security and Biodefense Unit).[vii],[viii]
2017 National Security Council briefs WH on “Early Response to High-Consequence Emerging Infectious Disease Threats.”
2017 The day before Donald Trump took office on January 20th, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of US NIAID, warned that an infectious epidemic was likely to occur during the new administration’s tenure and listed necessary measures to prepare for such an epidemic.[i]
2017 Several days before taking office, Donald Trump’s staff was briefed by outgoing administration officials about preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic.[i]
[i] Daimond, Dan, and Toosi, Nahal, “Trump team failed to follow NSC’s pandemic playbook,” Politico, 25 March 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285
[i] Toosi, Nahal, et al.,“Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning: ‘The worst influenza pandemic since 1918′, Politico, 3 Mar 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/trump-inauguration-warning-scenario-pandemic-132797
2017 Several days before taking office, Donald Trump’s staff was briefed by outgoing administration officials about preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic.[ii]
[i] Nina Golgowski, “Dr. Fauci Warned In 2017 Of ‘Surprise Outbreak’ During Trump Administration,” Huffington Post, 05 April, 2020. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fauci-warned-of-trump-pandemic-2017_n_5e8a0548c5b6e7d76c65c8a4
[ii] Daimond, Dan, and Toosi, Nahal, “Trump team failed to follow NSC’s pandemic playbook,” Politico, 25 March 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285
[ii] Toosi, Nahal, et al.,“Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning: ‘The worst influenza pandemic since 1918′, Politico, 3 Mar 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/trump-inauguration-warning-scenario-pandemic-132797
Jan 2016 Several days before taking office, Donald Trump’s staff was briefed by outgoing administration officials about preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic.[ix]
[i] adapted Derrick Bryson Taylor, “A Timeline of the Coronavirus Pandemic,” New York Times, 27 March 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html, and Harry Stevens and Shelly Ta, “From ‘It’s going to disappear’ to ‘We will win this war,” Washington Post, 31 March 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/trump-coronavirus-statements/
[ii] Ed Pilkington, “How science finally caught up with Trump’s playbook – with millions of lives at stake
How science finally caught up with Trump’s playbook – with millions of lives at stake,” The Guardian, 4 April 2020.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/04/trump-coronavirus-science-analysis
[iii] Maggie Haberman, “ Trade Adviser Warned White House in January of Risks of a Pandemic,” NYT 6 April 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/navarro-warning-trump-coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition=3
[iv] “Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) R&D,” World Health Organization, R&D Blueprint. https://www.who.int/blueprint/priority-diseases/key-action/novel-coronavirus/en/
[v] ibid
[vi] US axed CDC expert job in China months before outbreak”, Reuters
23 March 2020 GMT+3. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-cdc-exclusiv/exclusive-u-s-axed-cdc-expert-job-in-china-months-before-virus-outbreak-idUSKBN21910S
[vii] Deb Riechmann, “Trump disbanded NSC pandemic unit that experts had praised,“ Associated Press, 14 March 2020. https://apnews.com/ce014d94b64e98b7203b873e56f80e9a
[viii] “Partly false claim: Trump fired entire pandemic response team in 2018,” Reuters, 25 March 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-trump-fired-pandemic-team/partly-false-claim-trump-fired-pandemic-response-team-in-2018-idUSKBN21C32M
[ix] Daimond, Dan, and Toosi, Nahal, “Trump team failed to follow NSC’s pandemic playbook,” Politico, 25 March 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/25/trump-coronavirus-national-security-council-149285
[ix] Toosi, Nahal, et al.,“Before Trump’s inauguration, a warning: ‘The worst influenza pandemic since 1918′, Politico, 3 Mar 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/trump-inauguration-warning-scenario-pandemic-132797