AP Was There: The surreal, first day of the pandemic

FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March, 10, 2020, about the coronavirus outbreak as Vice President Mike Pence, second from left gestures to a display. Also onstage from left are U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Pence, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma, and Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases speaks in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March, 10, 2020, about the coronavirus outbreak as Vice President Mike Pence, second from left gestures to a display. Also onstage from left are U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, Pence, White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Seema Verma, and Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

By Associated Press March 12, 2022 13 min read

On the day the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, Koloud “Kay” Tarapolsi reflected the views of many people when she told an Associated Press reporter: “If we avoid each other and listen to the scientists, maybe in a few weeks it will be better.”

If only she knew.

News coverage of the first day of the pandemic, March 11, 2020, is a fascinating look-back in time at a world experiencing combination of denial and panic about a virus that was still a mystery to many.

People were stunned at the idea that schools and sporting events were being shuttered, developments that became the norm over the next two years. Stock markets plummeted, President Donald Trump addressed a jittery nation to announce travel restrictions. Tom Hanks was infected with the virus,

But many people, like Tarapolsi, thought it would be over soon.