Five years after Gov. Brian Kemp announced Georgia’s first confirmed case of COVID-19, the pandemic is in the background — except for those who suffer from long COVID, a number estimated to be in the millions nationwide.
Here is a timeline of key events in the pandemic.
December 2019
The World Health Organization country office in China sees that the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China posted a media statement on its website about cases of “viral pneumonia” there. WHO submits the information for global circulation to agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
February 2020
On Feb. 25, CDC’s COVID-19 task force incident manager, Georgia resident Dr. Nancy Messonnier, gives a public briefing conveying COVID-19’s gravity, warning of school and work closures. “Disruption to everyday life may be severe,” she says, contradicting optimistic messaging from the Trump administration. She is later removed from leading the task force.
March 2020
Gov. Brian Kemp on the evening of March 2 confirms the first cases in Georgia, a father and son from Fulton County who returned from a trip to Italy. The same day, in Dougherty County, a 70-year-old man dies at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, and his death certificate later lists COVID-19 as a cause. The area around Albany in Southwest Georgia becomes one of a handful of world hot spots, along with Italy, China and Seattle.
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution
April 2020
On April 2, with hospitals in danger of overflowing and infections spreading quickly, Kemp shuts down the state, ordering a shelter-in-place.
December 2020
The U.S. authorizes the Pfizer mRNA vaccine for use against COVID-19.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
September 2021
Weekly COVID-19 deaths in Georgia reach 995, a pandemic high for the state.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
January 2022
Weekly COVID-19 infections in Georgia reach their highest rate ever recorded. This variant is extremely infectious but not as deadly as some others, so deaths do not peak again in the same way.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
May 2023
With immunity from vaccination and natural exposure now widespread, COVID-19’s danger to patients is far less than at the outset. People are generally encouraged to get yearly vaccination boosters. On May 11, the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 is allowed to expire.
July 2024
Research led by Yale scientists suggests that COVID-19 sickness may have led to 12.9 million U.S. individuals not returning to work within three months of infection. Of those, 2.4 million may have long COVID.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
January 2025
The Georgia Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of H5N1 in a commercial poultry flock in Elbert County. This was the first commercial case of bird flu in Georgia since the 2022 outbreak. The risk remains low, according to state officials.
February 2025
Three cases of measles are diagnosed in unvaccinated people in Georgia. In Texas, one unvaccinated child dies of measles, the nation’s first measles death in a decade.
Editor Lois Norder contributed to this article.
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