Some of my friends are arguing about the administration’s response to the Corona Crisis. I’m not interested in that discussion, except from a social and psychological perspective – i.e., how social myths affect rational thinking . But here are some of the facts:
US COVID-19 Case and Death Timeline 12/31 to 4/14
December 31: China reports virus to WHO
Case and Death Toll: 1 case, no deaths
January 6: CDC issues travel notice to Wuhan
January 17: CDC starts health screening at SFO, JFK, and LAX
Case and Death Toll: 1 case, no deaths
January 20: Dr. Fauci says NIH working on vaccine
Case and Death Toll: 5 cases, no deaths
January 27: CDC announces Level 3 travel notice
January 31: Trump announces travel ban to start on 2/2
February 6: CDC starts shipping testing kits
February 24: Administration requests $2.5 billion to combat the virus
Case and Death Toll (2/28): 9 cases, 4 deaths
February 29: FDA allows certified labs to begin testing while pending applications; Trump raises travel advisory to Level 4
March 6: Trump signs $8.3 billion coronavirus spending bill
Case and Death Toll (3/7): 407 cases, 27 deaths – 6.6% case fatality rate (CFR)
March 9: Administration asks Congress for payroll tax cut
March 11: Trump announces travel restriction for Europe
March 13: Trump declares national emergency to access $42 billion in funds
March 13: FDA approves Roche AG and Thermo Fisher tests
Case and Death Toll (3/14): 4,240 cases, 63 deaths – 1.4% CFR
March 14: Coronavirus Relief Bill passes House
March 16: FDA allows testing in state labs
March 18: US Navy deploys two hospital ships
March 19: Trump announces hope for hydroxychloroquine
March 21: Administration places orders for millions of N95 masks through FEMA
Case and Death Toll (3/21): 45,093 cases, 297 deaths – 0.65% CFR
March 28: Trump and Cuomo talk
Case and Death Toll (3/28): 107,930 cases, 2,001 deaths – 1.8% CFR
April 2: Trump invokes Defense Production Act
Case and Death Toll (4/4): 229,268 cases, 8,379 deaths – 3.6% CFR
April 5: 3,000 military and medical personnel deployed to NY
Case and Death Toll (4/11): 522,843 cases, 16,593 deaths – 3.1% CFR
April 12: FDA authorizes devices to decontaminate 4 million N95 respirators per day
Case and Death Toll (4/14): 602,473 cases, 25,668 deaths – 4.2% CFR