A year ago, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Middle Georgia
A year ago today, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Middle Georgia. Our lives changed remarkably quickly, with schools and businesses shutting down and Gov. Brian Kemp issuing a shelter-in-place order.
The Telegraph put together a timeline of coronavirus-related events to provide perspective on the past 12 months and provide context for where we are today: schools have returned to in-person classes, thousands of people are vaccinated a day at Macon’s mass vaccination site, and local hospitals are reporting single-digit coronavirus patients, down from mid-summer highs in the 70s and 80s.
COVID-19 TIMELINE
March 13: Organizers of Middle Georgia events, including the International Cherry Blossom Festival and Bragg Jam begin to announce cancellations.
March 18: Bibb County Schools go virtual. The announcement came shortly after all sporting events in Bibb County were canceled. The school district closed for a couple of days and eventually moved to online learning later in the school year. Also on this day, the first COVID-19 case was reported in Middle Georgia.
March 19: A pair of Laurens County residents are hospitalized in Dublin.
March 23: Then Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert signs state of emergency orders and closes businesses in Macon. Restaurants switch over to drive-thru and curbside pickup for all orders.
March 24: COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund started. The United Way of Central Georgia and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia announced the creation of the Central Georgia COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund to provide funding to local nonprofits that support people and organizations affected by the pandemic.
March 25: First COVID-19 death reported in Middle Georgia. Houston County’s Roger Armstrong, well known for his involvement in the Warner Robins Little League, died at age 64.
March 26: Gov. Brian Kemp announces all schools will close physical campuses through April 24. The governor also announced that the University System of Georgia would transition to online learning; in-person classes did not return for the rest of the semester.
March 29: First death in Peach County, a 29-year old woman. President Donald Trump approves a major disaster declaration for all 159 counties in the state of Georgia.
April 1: Kemp announces a shelter-in-place order mandating all residents stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
April 27: Middle Georgia gets a trio of drive-thru testing sites through the mobile unit.
May 1: Kemp lifts shelter-in-place order and institutes guidelines for sanitization and social distancing.
Early July: The state experiences record spikes in cases including a single-day high of over 4,700 new cases that would stand for the rest of 2020.
Nov: 9 Bibb Schools begin a phased-in return to face-to-face learning. The return saw students attend classes four days a week with one virtual learning day for buildings to be cleaned. The district went back to virtual learning for most students in December and continued until middle February.
Dec. 21: The first set of vaccines arrive in Middle Georgia. Navicent Medical Center received the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine and began vaccinating nurses on the same day.
Dec. 23: First set of the Moderna vaccine arrives in Middle Georgia.
Jan. 8: The single biggest COVID-19 case increase in the state with over 10,000 new cases reported. The increase is part of the biggest spike in COVID-19 cases since early July and is the largest 7-day average of cases since the start of the pandemic.
Feb. 18: Massive winter storm delays delivery of the vaccine around the country including to Georgia.
Feb. 22: Four mass vaccination sites open around the state, including one in Macon.
By the numbers: One year later
Georgia
- Cases: 837,443
- Deaths: 15,928
- Hospitalizations: 57,513
- Vaccines administered: 2,740,601
Macon-Bibb County
Houston County
- Cases: 9,587
- Deaths: 176
- Hospitalizations: 674
- Vaccines administered: 32,344
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.