Inside Edition Reflects on 1 Year Since COVID-19 Was Declared a Pandemic

It’s been exactly one year since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. It was the beginning of a year of intense loss, confusing advice and at times, fear. It was also a year of resilience and creativity as people around the world figured out ways to get through it all.

“A sobering announcement today from the World Health Organization ... the coronavirus has now been declared a global pandemic,” Inside Edition anchor Deborah Norville said.

Back then, the global death toll was 4,291. Today, it stands at over 2.6 million. 

Americans were just getting to know Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“At a congressional hearing, I made the statement, 'Things are gonna get much worse before they get better,'” Fauci said Thursday on "Today." “But I did not in my mind think that 'much worse' was gonna be 525,000 deaths.”

A year later, it’s hard to believe how much the nation has changed since that historic day. Masks are now a part of everyday life. In most states, the idea of dining out in a crowded restaurant indoors is a dim memory. And with more getting vaccinated each day, there is a renewed hope about getting things back to normal.

Watch the video in the player above to learn more about how things have changed over the last year. 

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