Rob AriasIt all seems like a bit of a blur. Five years ago, the international COVID-19 pandemic became local. Businesses and schools shuttered, meetings went online.
In the subsequent two plus years, thousands of Emeryville residents were infected with 12 deaths. Dozens of businesses shuttered, and the city experienced a post-pandemic surge in crime and homelessness.
In the wake of the pandemic, many cities have struggled with lagging revenues, causing budget deficits. The surge in crime and homelessness eventually tapered off last year.
Response to the pandemic has been posthumously criticized, particularly for small business closures and the extended school closures that negatively impacted student achievement.
The world changed five years ago today, and The E’ville Eye was there every step of the way.
Here’s how it all went down:
December 12, 2019: Patients in Wuhan, China begin to experience the symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness that does not respond well to standard treatments.*
January 20, 2020: The first case of this illness in the U.S. is reported in Washington state.
February 11, 2020: The World Health Organization declares “COVID-19” as the official name for the disease that is causing the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak (an abbreviated version of “Coronavirus Disease 2019”).
March 9, 2020: Tension begins to build when 21 passengers and crew members of the Grand Princess cruise ship test positive for the virus leaving them stranded off the coast. They are authorized by local officials to dock at the Port of Oakland where the infected can be treated and passengers quarantined.
March 11, 2020: After more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths, the WHO officially declares COVID-19 a “pandemic.”
March 13, 2020: The Trump Administration declares a nationwide emergency and issues a travel ban on non-U.S. citizens traveling from 26 European countries.
March 14, 2020: The City and the EUSD announce the closure of their facilities through April 3rd. Community Services cancels the Annual Spring Carnival scheduled for April 11th.
Effective at midnight, San Francisco will require people to stay home except for essential needs.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) March 16, 2020
Necessary government functions & essential stores will remain open.
These steps are based on the advice of public health experts to slow the spread of #COVID19.
March 16, 2020: Shortly before noon, SF Mayor London Breed issues a Stay Home Order to help slow the spread of the virus. Alameda and other Counties quickly follow suit by issuing their own Shelter Orders.
March 19, 2020: Through an emergency ordinance, City Council votes to suspend residential and commercial evictions.
March 20, 2020: The California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) relaxes rules allowing restaurants to deliver Alcohol with food orders.
March 23, 2020: Amid plummeting ridership, transit agencies including Emery Go-Round, C Transit and BART announce reduced schedules.
March 24, 2020: Shuttered restaurants begin adapting by pushing delivery and take-out. The E’ville Eye publishes a map of restaurants offering take-out.
Mar 25, 2020: Emeryville closes children’s play areas and parks to public
March 27, 2020: Federal Paycheck Protection Program rolled out as part of the CARES Act distributing forgivable loans to businesses.
March 31, 2020: NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts the likelihood of between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from COVID-19.
April 3, 2020: CDC recommends wearing masks in addition to social distancing and frequent hand-washing to slow transmission of the disease.
April 3, 2020: Emery Unified announces it will remain closed throughout the remainder of the school year and lean into remote learning. The EUSD would continue variations of “distance learning” throughout the 2020-2021 school year.
April 8, 2020: Alameda County publishes a dashboard to track COVID-19 transmissions by city.
April 9, 2020: Alameda County supervisor Scott Haggerty suggested at an ABAG meeting that smaller cities under 75,000 should consider merging with a neighboring city to consolidate resources. “If these cities are not going to survive and go bankrupt, maybe we need to look at other ways.”
April 16, 2020: Federal government begins issuing Stimulus checks providing most Americans with $1200.
April 17, 2020: The County issues an order mandating face coverings when out in public.
April 21, 2020: City implements touch-free crosswalk signals and so-called “slow streets” along Doyle to expand outdoor space.
April 29, 2020: Shelter Order is extended until at least May 31.
April 30, 2020: The Trump Administration launches Operation Warp Speed to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
May 8, 2020: FDA authorizes the first COVID-19 test with the option of using home-collected saliva samples.
May 9, 2020: Emeryville City Council votes to prepare an urgency ordinance allowing food-service businesses to operate sidewalk cafes and parklets.
May 20, 2020: The State of California launches an online tool for finding testing sites with three listed in Emeryville.
May 22, 2020: Emeryville begin feeling the economic pinch with a forecasted $7M Budget shortfall with City Finance Director Susan Hsieh referring to it an “Economic Implosion.”
May 30, 2020: Likely fueled by anxiety over the pandemic, unrest following the death of George Floyd devolve in mass-looting of retail areas. In what is one of the darkest days in the city’s history, many of Emeryville’s shopping centers are ransacked. Emeryville City Councilmembers are widely criticized for not condemning the violence.
June 3, 2020: Emeryville Police Chief Jennifer Tejada, who had announced her retirement just weeks earlier, pens a guest piece on The E’ville Eye lamenting the looting of Emeryville and the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
June 9, 2020: Emeryville partners with Oakland to open the Family Matters shelter at the former Rec. Center on San Pablo Avenue to house 25 homeless families.
June 22, 2020: Business closures ramp up as some warn of a “mass extinction” event.
July 11, 2020: County suspends outdoor dining after a rise in cases.
August 28, 2020: Alameda County issued a revised shelter order allowing specific business sectors including personal care services like hair salons and barbers to resume outdoor operations
August 28, 2020: California unveils a color-coded tier system for COVID-19 restrictions categorizing counties into four tiers—Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate), and Yellow (Minimal).
October 2, 2020: Emeryville’s annual Celebration of the Arts opts to go virtual putting a pause on 33 consecutive years of in-person events.
December 2020: Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is first to receive Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA.
January 21, 2021: The inauguration of Joe Biden as president signals a shift in the National Strategy for the pandemic response.
January 31, 2021: Vaccine Clinics begin rolling out in Emeryville and beyond with priority given to Health Care workers and seniors over 65.
March 31, 2021: County moves to orange tier allowing businesses to increase indoor capacities for already opened businesses and reopen bars outdoors.
April 12, 2021: Alameda County expands vaccine eligibility to everyone over 16.
April 30, 2021: Alaska becomes the first state to end its COVID-19 pandemic emergency order.
May 4, 2021: Bay Street, hit hard by the Pandemic, is sold by UBS to CenterCal Properties at a steep discount.
June 15, 2021: California fully reopens, retiring its color-coded tier system.
October 1, 2021: Emeryille’s cherished Celebration of the Arts returns as an in-person event.
January 15, 2022: State-level mask mandate for indoor public spaces ends.
February 28, 2023: Alameda County rescinds Emergency Health Order putting an official end to the Pandemic.
March 19, 2024: City eliminates remote public comment, a relic of the pandemic, in reaction to “zoom bombing” incidents where several anonymous callers use hate speech.
Our complete collection of news stories related to the pandemic can be read here.
* timeline according to CDC website.
Great summary. And the detailed local history is priceless.