A year ago today, on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, as the World Health Organisation officially declared Covid-19 a pandemic, the seriousness of the virus was becoming abundantly clear in America.
A series of lockdowns followed.
“We will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now,” the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, said before Congress that Wednesday morning.
“How much worse we'll get will depend on our ability to do two things: to contain the influx of people who are infected coming from the outside and the ability to contain and mitigate within our own country.
“Bottom line, it's going to get worse,” he added.
Later that night, then-president Donald Trump closed air borders to Europe in a prime time national address; the NBA sports league suspended the rest of its season; and, actor Tom Hanks and actress Rita Wilson announced they had contracted the virus.
There were only six deaths to Covid-19 in the US on March 11, along with 245 known cases, according to a tracker from The New York Times.
New York recorded a growing number of cases, including the first in a Manhattan individual who had arrived from Iran. A community experiencing a rise of cases to the north of the city, New Rochelle, locked down on March 11 in hopes of stemming the further spread of the disease in the state and nearby New York City, but officials later realised there were many unrecorded cases elsewhere.
"As a nation, we can't be doing the kinds of things we were doing a few months ago."
These major events made the pandemic and its wide-ranging effects very real for many Americans.
People realised easy cross-Atlantic business and travel couldn’t continue, as the coronavirus didn’t discriminate between a neighbour, a person in a faraway country or a favourite celebrity.
“As a nation, we can’t be doing the kinds of things we were doing a few months ago,” Dr Fauci said in a March 10 press briefing.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in a state that has no cases or one case – you have to start taking seriously what you can do now, if and when the infections will come. And they will come. Sorry to say, sad to say, they will.”
Almost everything in American daily life was affected in a cascading succession of events in the following days and weeks.
Mr Trump declared a national state of emergency on March 13, the same day US-EU travel was halted.
The goal was to lock down to stop the uncontrolled and undetected spread of the virus, as very little was known about it, and to prevent overwhelming hospitals and health systems.
Under the Trump administration, there was no organised federal national action to stop the virus and approaches were left to individual states, leading to an uneven response.
As part of the lockdowns, businesses were either labelled essential or non-essential. Those deemed essential took on coronavirus mitigation and they remained open. Offices asked employees to stay home and work remotely.
A record 6.6 million Americans filed for jobless benefits in a single week. The unemployment rate went from 3.5 per cent in February to over 14 per cent in April.
Schools and day care centres closed, forcing teachers to hold classes remotely and making parents add schooling to their schedules. Many suffered new mental health issues.
Several US governors declared their own states of emergencies in early March and limited large gatherings.
Stay-at-home orders were issued as cases and deaths skyrocketed later in the month, like in California on March 19 and New York state on March 20.
New York City eventually became the global epicentre of the pandemic.
At least three in four people in the country were under some form of lockdown by the end of March, BBC News reported at the time.
After the lockdown
The lockdowns worked, as the first surge of cases in the US was flattened in May.
Many states then lifted their stay-at-home orders and shifted to restrictions that allowed businesses to reopen with limitations that aimed to avoid widespread infections. As warmer weather came, restaurants were allowed to open outdoor dining spaces.
However, the early pandemic mantra of "flatten the curve" didn't last long as surges occurred in July and again in the fall leading into the winter holidays.
No US state issued stay-at-home orders again, even as the US reached record levels of cases. At its worst, 131,000 people were admitted to hospital and the country saw several single-day death tolls of 4,000 in early January.
More than 529,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19, the highest death toll for any country globally.
The US also ranks in the top five countries with the most deaths per 100,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In other developed countries – like Australia or South Korea – lockdowns were uniformly rolled out and taken seriously. As a result, cases stayed low throughout the pandemic.
Recent research found that 40 per cent of US Covid deaths could be attributable to Mr Trump's policies, when compared to those of other G7 countries.
Then and now
Under Mr Biden's administration, the focus has been on widespread vaccination as cases decline – but these remain at high levels as highly transmissible variants continue to spread.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention report 18.8 per cent of people over 18 years old have had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 9.9 per cent have been fully vaccinated.
The remote work experiment still continues to this day, as few offices have reopened. There are ongoing conversations about whether people will be comfortable returning or if workplaces will introduce flexible work policies.
It's been difficult for the US to move past the sharp economic decline that has resulted from the pandemic. Hiring has stagnated, according to the latest monthly jobs report.
Approximately 4.1 million people in the US have been out of work for six months.
A Facebook study in December found that at least 25 per cent of small to medium-sized businesses in the US have closed temporarily or permanently.
Schools have largely remained closed or have reopened with hybrid models allowing pupils to do both in-person and remote classes.
For example, New York City, which has the nation's largest school system, reopened with a rigorous testing system and several coronavirus measures like mask mandates and open windows for ventilation.
“If you had turned the clock back a year, even though I've been through multiple outbreaks of different diseases, the thought that you would have 525,000 people in America who have died and about, you know, 28 million infections in this country, would have really been unimaginable,” Dr Fauci told CNN on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, some states are moving forward as if all is said and done.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott removed the state's face mask mandate and allowed businesses to reopen at 100 per cent this week.
Health officials are still issuing caution, with most people still unvaccinated.
"Don't put your guard down completely," Dr Fauci said this week. "Just be prudent a bit longer. We are going in the right direction. We are almost there.”
President Joe Biden is marking the lockdown anniversary in his first national prime time address tonight.
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE rugby in numbers
5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams
Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams
Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season
Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season
