By: Emdad S.
Today is March 11th, 2021, As President Biden gives his first primetime address regarding the one year anniversary of Coronavirus lockdowns, we look back at this day, the 11th of March, from 2020. For myself, a huge sports fan, I remember this day differently. On that Wednesday night, the NBA shutdown their season after Utah Jazz Center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. It all happened so fast, our lives changed overnight. Rudy Gobert’s positive test resulted in a big wave of cancellations in sports; several Power Five conferences shutdown their tournaments, and later the NCAA Tournament was cancelled. Then President Trump addressed the nation in a primetime Oval Office address, the same one President Biden will give. Trump said, “My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak with you about our nation’s unprecedented response to the Coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China and is now spreading throughout the world.” The dramatic atmosphere of the leader of this country speaking to the nation regarding a health crisis was so unimaginable. We had not had this type of pandemic address since Woodrow Wilson’s radio address regarding the flu 100 years ago.
The timeline then shifted rapidly, everything changed. “FCPS will close schools through April 10th, 2020,” Superintendent Scott Brabrand said on March 13th. That same day, President Trump officially declared a National Emergency. In a span of 48 hrs, we saw shutdown after shutdown. Then we know what happened, days of staying home, making whipped coffee, TikTok, Tiger King, and whatever lazy thing we did. But many did at-home workouts, kudos to those people. We remained resilient, and took it one day at a time. With hardwork, we were able to have sports, an NBA Finals, a World Series, and a Super Bowl. Many of us voted like never before, and we even had a week-long election. Now, life is starting to return to normal, we have multiple vaccines and many kids are returning to school. Americans never give up, they stay focused and do the right thing. So as we watch President Biden address the nation, we should remain proud of how far we’ve come, but also remember the 500,000+ lives we’ve lost.
President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman honor the 500,000 lives lost due to Covid-19.
Images Via AP News, ABC News, & TikTok