The year 2020 has been a wild ride, as this was the year everything that could go wrong pretty much did. COVID-19 continues to be the main player in 2020, but there were other significant events that transpired throughout the year. Let’s take a step back and remember the major monthly events of 2020.
January: The first month of this historic year started out pretty normally with everyone trying to stick to their resolutions and make a fresh start. However, that was short lived as bush wildfires began in Australia, and the Melbourne and Sydney governments declared states of emergency. People and animals were forced to evacuate to remain safe. Along with that, Trump was being investigated for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress during his impeachment trials through the 16th. Near the end of January, basketball legend Kobe and his daughter, Gigi Bryant, unfortunately passed away in a helicopter crash.
February: As 2020 continued, chaos started to ramp up in the world. Trump’s impeachment trial ended with him getting acquitted by the U.S. Senate. While in Australia the wildfires reached an all-time high, COVID-19 cases began skyrocketing in Wuhan, China.
March: We started the “quarantine”, an attempt at slowing the spread of the virus. On March 16 the WSFCS school system had officially begun to operate online with the use of Haiku and scheduled Zoom classes during their class periods. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.
April: In the United States, quarantine was being taken to new levels, shops were closed and people were stuck inside for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, Wuhan lifted the lockdown and allowed people to leave the city.
May: Tragedy struck as protests broke out against law enforcement and police brutality over the death of George Floyd. The “Black Lives Matter” movement spread across the world.
June: By the halfway point of the year, it already felt like 10 years had passed. Space X’s successful launch of 60 Starlink satellites in orbit from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A that was a nice spectacle for people in Africa, India, and China to delight in was an annual solar eclipse. As June ended, COVID-19 was at an all-time high with 10 million cases worldwide.
July: Everyone attempted to enjoy their summer, though COVID-19 cases passed 11 million worldwide. While on Twitter, one of the biggest BitCoin scams in history happened with many verified accounts like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were hacked and posting links to a website that you would give them BitCoins and in turn, they would “promise” to return more back. By the end of July, NASA sent a Mars rover to collect samples and look for more life on the orange surface.
August: At the end of summer, a terrible explosion occurred in Lebanon killing over 200 people, injuring over 1000, and leaving many without homes. Following the tragedy, the Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency. By the end of August, COVID-19 cases reached 25 million worldwide.
September: As the months continued, COVID-19 cases reached 30 million worldwide by September and were continuously rising. On Sept. 18 Supreme court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away at the age of 87. Trump and Biden also had their first presidential debate at the end of September, which was the start of many memes and jokes.
October: Spooky season started, and it was one month closer to the election. COVID-19 cases reached 45 million worldwide, and people had to spend Halloween at home watching scary movies or carving pumpkins. Near the end of October, NASA discovered that there was water on the moon! Well, molecular water that is, but it was still a surprise and a nice end to the month.
November: The election month has come around, and with it, internal chaos in America as the voting process began, and, after an entire week of waiting, it was announced that Biden was the chosen candidate for the 2020 election. Apart from the election, though, a penumbral Lunar Eclipse occurred, and the COVID-19 cases reached around 60 million worldwide. The U.S, government also deciding to formally exit the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
December: Last but not least, we have December! It’s a favorite month for a lot of people due to Christmas and other religious holidays, but this year things are only a “little different” considering COVID-19 is still rampant throughout the U.S. The United Kingdom also became the first nation to campaign a authorized, tested vaccine for the virus. Joe Biden hit the 270 electoral votes needed but the House and Senate still need to count the votes on Jan. 6 to confirm it.
It’s safe to say that this year has been one for the history books as COVID-19 took over everyone’s lives around the world and has yet to cease. It’s clear that this is going to take time for things to go back to a sense of normality like how they used to be. Until then all we can do is take care of ourselves and others, so make sure to stay safe, and enjoy the New Year.