The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic 100 days ago. In a little over 3 months, the virus has left devastation in its wake and doesn't show signs of stopping yet.

STR/AFP via Getty Images

• The World Health Organization declared the spread of COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11 — 100 days ago.
• As of Friday evening, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
• The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, has devastated populations, as medical professionals, government officials, and scientists and researchers alike rush to understand it.
• Here's how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it in a matter of 100 days.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic 100 days ago on March 11. In a little more than three months, the coronavirus has infected more than 8.6 million people, and the death toll surpassed 458,000.

The coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, spread to nearly every continent, as doctors and nurses treat hundreds of patients per shift. Government officials scrambled to not only support their constituents, but also to implement ways to stem the rapidly spreading virus.

Parts of the world plunged into unprecedented lockdowns, shuttering businesses and keeping people physically distant from one another, leading to economic decline.

In the last few weeks, some restrictions have been lifted in a bid to restore normalcy in a pandemic-ridden world. But in light of reopening efforts, experts are concerned that the world could once again face the dark reality it faced at the early beginnings of the pandemic.

In a matter of 100 days, the coronavirus has devastated populations around the world, and there doesn't yet seem to be an end in sight as scientists rush to develop a vaccine.

Here's how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped life as we knew it:

March 11: The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

The WHO was first aware of the novel coronavirus that was sweeping across regions of China in early January and declared it an emergency at the end of January.

According to a timeline from WHO, by March 11 the organization was "Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction," which led it to declare COVID-19 a pandemic.

 

March 13: President Donald Trump declared a national emergency after weeks of downplaying the coronavirus and comparing it to the flu.

Associated Press

Source: Business Insider

March 16: Dow plunges 2,997 points in the worst drop since 1987 amid coronavirus fears.

Getty Images / Kiyoshi Ota

Source: Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• Oklahoma reports a record increase in coronavirus cases, days before Donald Trump's indoor rally in Tulsa
• The WHO-backed trial of coronavirus drugs is dropping hydroxychloroquine since it's been found ineffective at treating COVID-19
• Fauci said he's concerned recent spikes in COVID-19 cases could become a 'full blown outbreak' without proper testing and contact tracing

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2NgAS77