VIDEO: COVID-19 makes history in 2020

The pandemic is the top news story of the year

Sofia Burke

New Jersey nurse Sofia Burke said it took one family member letting their guard down “for one second” for Covid-19 to infect seven of the eight people in her household. CNN via Cisco Webex photo

Chris LeFall, Multimedia Journalist, Newscene

COVID-19 has impacted the entire world since its first confirmed case in the United States on January 21, 2020.

The global death toll surpassed 1.6 million people on Dec. 11 and continues to rise, according to Worldometer’s COVID-19 data.

The latest is featured on this week’s special edition of Newscene, which takes a look at the top stories of 2020.

The coronavirus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. 

Shortly after, President Donald Trump declared a National State of Emergency.

Public schools, restaurants and amusement parks began to close nationally to avoid the spread of the virus. 

Governor Gavin Newsom ordered 40 million California residents to stay at home indefinitely on March 19.

Newsom got backlash from other political figures like the California Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

“I hope Governor Newsom consulted with a lot of experts before he decided to shut down 12% of the nation’s population,” McCarthy tweeted. 

In Newsom’s spring order, he highlighted essential travel as an exception for leaving the home. This included travel for groceries or medical supplies.

But the virus continued to spread rapidly.

California is currently in the purple tier and under stay-at-home orders.

Newscene is the award-winning student-produced weekly newscast. To enroll in the spring, visit the class schedule on sdcity.edu and look for RTVF 145.