Timeline: Iowa’s year of enduring the coronavirus pandemic

March 8, 2020

First cases are confirmed — three Johnson County residents were on an Egyptian cruise ship with a breakout.

March 11

The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa announce they'll go to online-only for at least two weeks.

March 15

K-through-12 schools say they'll close for at least a month.

March 17

Reynolds orders the closure of many Iowa businesses and says social gatherings must be limited to 10 or fewer people. The closures include restaurants, bars, fitness centers, adult day cares and casinos.

March 23

Reynolds expands her order to salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and swimming pools. She does not issue a shelter-at-home order.

March 24

The first Iowan to die from COVID-19-related causes is confirmed to a 61-80 year old from Dubuque County.

March 26

State unemployment claims soar to nearly 41,000. The state pays out more than $10.6 million.

April 6

More businesses close as shopping malls, libraries, amusement parks, playgrounds, campgrounds, bowling alleys and others are added.

Aril 14

The state confirms 86 cases tied to an outbreak at a Tyson food plant in Columbus Junction. It becomes one of at least eight meatpacking plants in Iowa with outbreaks.

April 15

Using federal pandemic aid, the state enters a $26 million contract with NOMI Health of Utah to provide 540,000 COVID-19 tests over five months. It gets off to a rocky start with many Iowans saying they must wait a week or more for results.

April 17

Reynolds closes schools through the end of the academic year.

April 20

UI health researchers project the state could see between 263 and 711 virus-related deaths by June 1. The state confirmed 535 by June 1.

April 24

On a day the state has its highest numbers yet of virus-related deaths and cases, Reynolds announces she's easing restrictions on businesses. Hospitals may resume elective surgeries.

April 27

Reynolds declares some businesses can reopen with social distancing requirements in 77 counties where the virus is not as active.

May 6

Campgrounds, drive-in movie theaters and tanning facilities are permitted to reopen.

May 13

Virus related deaths hit a high so far. Reynolds declares restaurants, malls, fitness centers and other retail establishments may reopen. The order leaves bars, movie theaters, casinos and amusement parks still closed.

May 20

Reynolds announces the last major wave of reopenings: Movie theaters, zoos, aquariums and museums are cleared. She announces bars can reopen in roughly another week.

May 26

Reynolds adds casinos and race tracks, bowling alleys and other entertainment venues to the list of businesses allowed to reopen. Only performance theaters, adult day care facilities and indoor playgrounds remain closed. 'Iowa is on the road to recovery,' Reynolds says.

June 10

The 2020 Iowa State Fair is canceled.

July 30

Reynolds and the state education department publish requirements for the coming school year. Any district that wants to go entirely online must be in counties with at least a 15 percent positivity rates and must get clearance from the state.

Aug. 27

With new cases spiking — driven by college students who have returned to campus for the fall semester — Reynolds orders bars and nightclubs closed in six counties, including those with the public universities.

October

It is difficult to pinpoint an exact date, but around this time the worst surge of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Iowa begins. The surge lasts roughly three months.

Nov. 3

With numerous public health mitigation strategies in place, Iowa conducts what is considered by all accounts a successful election. New state records are set for most total votes (1.7 million) and most early votes (1 million).

Nov. 16

As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to skyrocket, Reynolds issues a partial public face mask requirement. 'Right now, the pandemic in Iowa is worse than it has ever been,' Reynolds says. She also limits all public gatherings to no more than 15 people indoors and 30 people outdoors, and requires restaurants and bars to close at 10 p.m.

Nov. 19

Iowa marks its deadliest day so far when 75 Iowans are confirmed to have died from COVID-19-related causes.

December

Again, the exact date is difficult to pin down because it varies across myriad data. But roughly in late November and early December, the running averages of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Iowa all begin falling.

Dec. 14

At about 9:30 a.m., David Conway, an emergency room nurse at UI Hospitals and Clinics, receives the first COVID-19 vaccine shot administered in Iowa.

Jan. 29

Reynolds signs a law requiring K-12 schools to offer students a 100 percent in-person option.

Feb. 5

Roughly three months after it was implemented, the state's partial face mask requirement is lifted by Reynolds. It is later revealed Reynolds did not consult her own public health department in the decision.

March 8, 2021:

One year later, the number of vaccine doses administered in Iowa continues to increase while the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the state continue to decrease.

Sources: Iowa Governor's Office, Iowa Department of Public Health, John McGlothlen of The Gazette and Erin Murphy of the Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau.