A look at some major events in New Bedford and around the world during the pandemic

The World Health Organization notes a media report from Wuhan, China, describing cases of viral pneumonia.

The World Health Organization tweets that the new virus in Wuhan, China, can spread via human-to-human transmission, based on infections among health providers. WHO declares a global emergency on Jan. 30, 2020.

A student at UMass Boston, who had recently traveled to Wuhan, China, becomes the first case of COVID-19 in Massachusetts. It’s also the first confirmed case on the East Coast, although there were seven other cases around the U.S. at the time.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declares a State of Emergency, halting travel, large public events and urging teleworking for employees in the Executive Branch.

New Bedford Half Marathon organizers and city officials cancel the 2020 race, which was set for March 15. New Bedford still hasn’t seen its first case of COVID-19, but the race attracts up to 3,000 runners, who would have been corralled, shoulder-to-shoulder at the starting line.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell invokes a citywide State of Emergency, halting public events with more than 100 people, including his annual State of the City address. City schools are closed for at least one week. The school closing was later extended, then schools were closed for the year, with remote learning.

Mayor Mitchell announces that city playgrounds will be closed. At the time, there are  still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Bedford, although there are five cases in Bristol County, and two city residents are self-quarantining, Mitchell says.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at the Bristol County Correctional Center complain of crowded conditions and fears of COVID-19, citing correctional officers that exhibited symptoms. The letter is signed by 51 detainees.

A Suffolk County man becomes the first person from Massachusetts to die from COVID-19 related illness. The hospital patient had pre-existing health conditions.

Gov. Baker issues an emergency order for all Massachusetts businesses and organizations other than those performing essential COVID-19 services to close their physical workplaces to employees and the public. Restaurants are encouraged to offer take-out or delivery, adhering to public health guidelines.

Nurses at St. Luke’s Hospital press for better protective gear. Nationwide, there is a shortage of N-95 masks, and St. Luke’s Hospital nurses say they are performing risky work with less-protective surgical masks.

As COVID-19 cases soar in New York City, Gov. Baker urges out-of-state residents to avoid Massachusetts if they have symptoms, advising those who arrive at airports and train stations to self-quarantine for two weeks. Meanwhile, the U.S. surpasses 100,000 lives lost to COVID-19.

After suspending production of its golf ball manufacturing plant in New Bedford earlier in the month, the Acushnet Co. places employees on furlough.

Southcoast Health announces layoffs and furloughs of non-clinical staffers, citing loss of revenue amid the rising number of COVID-19 patients. At the time, the nonprofit’s three hospitals are treating 19 inpatients who tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesman says. A second round of layoffs and furloughs occurs in mid-May.

New Bedford orders wellness checks of nursing home and senior living residents, along with COVID-19 screening of staff and visitors.

First patient succumbs to COVID-19 in New Bedford. In all, there are three COVID-19 fatalities on the same day, including a husband and wife from Fairhaven, who die at St. Luke’s Hospital just 3 hours and 20 minutes apart.

Mayor Mitchell announces the city will open regional care centers at two nursing homes, providing a combined 230 beds for COVID-19 patients who have been admitted to the hospital and require extended time for recovery or quarantine.

Workers send letters to more than 30 seafood companies, including 16 New Bedford businesses, complaining of sanitation issues and overcrowding at work.

Eight New Bedford first-responders, including six police and two fire employees, test positive for COVID-19.

New Bedford Schools are closed, first temporarily, then for the remainder of the academic year with remote learning.

New Bedford health officials order Blue Harvest Fisheries to shut down after three workers test positive for COVID-19.

A violent disturbance at Bristol County House of Corrections leaves three immigration detainees hospitalized. Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson says the incident occurred when 10 ICE detainees refused to get tested for COVID-19. Advocates for the detainees say they were attacked with pepper spray.

Mayor Mitchell orders businesses to report workers to the city’s Health Department if they may have contracted the novel coronavirus.

Mayor Jon Mitchell accepts the first delivery of masks from Joseph Abboud CEO Joe Bahena. New Bedford became the first city in America to offer a free mask to all city residents who wanted one; they were made in New Bedford by Abboud.

New Bedford announces MaskNB — a program to provide free cloth face masks to city residents. The city had already been distributing some of the masks made at Joseph Abboud Manufacturing, to high-risk residents.

Gov. Baker announces a plan to begin reopening the state’s economy in four phases, based on local public health data.

New Bedford follows the statewide plan for reopening business, churches, parks and beaches, with some limitations as the city’s COVID-19 infection rate and hospitalizations remains constant. At that time, the city reported a total of 1,587 cases.

Hawthorn Medical Center in Dartmouth begins drive-through testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms.

The New Bedford Folk Festival, originally scheduled for the weekend of July 11-12, is canceled due to COVID-19. Organizers later cancel the 2021 Folk Festival, rescheduling it for July 9-10, 2022.

The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament — which had been scheduled for the weekend of July 30 — is canceled.

New Bedford City Hall reopens the Clerk’s, Treasurer’s and Elections offices for person-to person business — albeit with limited hours and social distancing rules.

New Bedford Public Schools begin the academic year with a hybrid plan that phases in cohorts of students on different dates. The eventual goal is getting all students safely back into classrooms.

After a COVID-19 outbreak, the city issues $1,800 in fines to an Acushnet Avenue church, saying the Iglesia Pentecostal Levantate y Anda failed to comply with state and city COVID-19 safety standards.

City issues fines to six New Bedford restaurants for violations of COVID-19 safety regulations. Offenses range from serving alcohol without food to allowing employees to work without face masks.

Organizers of the New Bedford Half Marathon announce that the 2021 race in mid-March, will be canceled for the second year in a row. On Oct. 28, the city reports a total of 3,192 COVID-19 cases.

Advocates for New Bedford seafood workers send a second letter to 30 processors and other businesses in the seafood industry, seeking face masks, COVID-19 safety training, free weekly testing and additional safety measures.

After positive testing for COVID-19 rises from 2 percent to 7 percent, New Bedford prohibits visits to nursing homes and senior living facilities. Exceptions are made for compassionate care in end-of-life cases.

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, the pandemic’s death toll edges close to 300,000 in the U.S. The FDA approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine a week later.

Sarah Lindsay, a nurse in Queens, N.Y., becomes the first person in the United States  to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. She receives her second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 21 days later.

New Bedford Police, fire and EMS staff, along with public health nurses, receive the first of two scheduled doses of Moderna vaccine. Cases are rising through January with a total of 9,596 reported by the city on Jan. 14.

Former New Bedford Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. dies from complications due to COVID-19. He was elected mayor in 1997 and had served from 1998 through 2006.

After canceling the New Bedford Folk Festival in 2020, organizers announce the 2021 festival will be postponed as well. The fest is now set for July 9-10, 2022.

The state opens Bristol County’s first mass vaccination site at the old Circuit City Store in Dartmouth. 

Visitations resume at New Bedford nursing homes and senior living facilities.

New Bedford establishes a waterfront vaccination center to inoculate essential workers in the city’s seafood industry.

New Bedford Public Schools complete the first week of five-day, in-person instruction for students in all grades.

Organizers of New Bedford’s Feast of the Blessed Sacrament cancel the four-day event for the second year in a row. The 106^th Feast is now scheduled for Aug. 4-7, 2022.

New Bedford Police Sgt. Michael P. Cassidy, a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Desert Storm, dies at St. Luke’s Hospital from COVID-19. Hundreds of police officers attend visiting hours on May 10 at Saunders-Dwyer Funeral Home and funeral services on May 11 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in New Bedford.

Gov. Baker eases restrictions on outdoor gatherings, noting that the state leads the nation in vaccinations. More restrictions will be lifted as of May 29 and Aug. 1, Baker says.

New Bedford, which had been one of Massachusetts’ last remaining high-risk communities for COVID-19, moves out of the so-called “Red Zone” for the first time since November of 2020. Infections have dropped from a high of 134 cases per day in mid-January to fewer than 16 cases per day. Total New Bedford cases as of May 27, 2021, number 14,376.

Massachusetts ends all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, ending the mask requirements and limits on restaurants, bars and other businesses. Masks are still required inside schools and on public transportation, and those who are not vaccinated are still urged to wear masks.