Well we did it, we survived another year. But some things were a bit more extreme than others. Let’s see what they were.
Mamata Elangovan
Staff Writer
2019
December 31st – first report of what is now known as coronavirus
An outbreak of what was thought to be pneumonia began in Wuhan, China. It is found that the virus is extremely contagious. Those admitted were put into isolation to curb the spread of the disease.
2020
January 20th – First US case of coronavirus confirmed
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms the first US case of coronavirus in the state of Washington.
January 26th – death of Kobe Bryant
Basketball player Kobe Bryant dies in a helicopter crash. All 9 occupants died from blunt force trauma. They crashed on a mountain above Calabasas.
February 10th – mass of locusts in Kenya
A locust swarm approximately 2400 square kilometers covers Kenya, probably one of the largest ever recorded. The infestations disturbs daily life, preventing kids from attending school, and women, who are mainly in charge of farming, from tending to the crops.
March 12th – Cancellation of professional sports
Professional American sports slowly dwindle. Organizations begin to cancel their games in fear of the virus and in order to protect their players. Starting with professional basketball, we witnessed the end of hockey, baseball, and soccer season before they even began properly.
March 16th – Alameda County enters lockdown
Starting at 12:01 p.m., six bay area counties enter shelter in place, not expected to rise until April 7th. Students leave school for the last time. The order ends up being extended well after the expected end date.
April 28th – Pentagon releases UFO videos
The Department of Defense releases three videos that show objects flying across the sky. People speculate whether aliens actually exist or not after viewing these videos.
May 5th – Revival of the Murder Hornets
Murder hornets, are but a nickname, originating from Asia, they get their name from their appetite of consuming honeybees. Sightings of these little killers were made in the Northwest, however, there were only two, leading to a wideblown panic of a murder hornet infestation.
June 6th – BLM Protests
While it may have begun in May, the Black Lives Matter protests hit one of its peaks on June 6th. Thousands of people showed up all across the United States to protest. A sign of change to come for a cause that we would continue to fight for even today.
July: Bubonic Plague resurgence
A case of the bubonic plague arises in a herdsmen from Mongolia. Cases like these are rare, and aren’t expected to spread due to precautions and antibiotics created to keep them in check. It was declared unlikely for it to turn up as another pandemic.
August: Coronavirus peak
Deadliest month of Coronavirus in California. Cases rise to 700,000 with close to 4000 deaths that month. An overall 18 percent increase since July.
September 18: Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
On this day, Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. She leaves behind a future for the women of American thanks to the decisions she made. She convinced the nation to adopt gender equality, and her death marks the passing of a legend.
September 29th: First Trump v. Biden debate
A day many will never forget. The first of the presidential debates. Where both sides barely restrained themselves and the moderator failed to do his job. A few days after the debate, President Trump was diagnosed with Coronavirus.
October 31st: Halloween
Kids were not allowed outside to go trick or treating. Many are angry, some still go out anyways. Also a blue moon, a somewhat rare occurrence which happens when there are two full moons in a month.
November 7th: President elect
Biden is announced the President elect after a long period of counting and recounting votes. His victory in his home state of Pennsylvania help him push past the 270 electoral votes needed to win the race.
November 8th: Coronavirus Vaccinations
Two companies, Pfizer and BioNTech say that the new vaccine prevents 90% of cases. Over 43000 people in 6 countries have received the new vaccine.
December 21st: Planet Alignment
On this day, Jupiter and Saturn witnessed a planetary conjunction. This event happens only once every 20 years. Even more spectacular this is the closest that the two planets would have been since 1226.
Eagle Era 