The world enters a pandemic as COVID-19 spreads

The world was plunged into crisis this year as the new coronavirus spread across the globe, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic and setting in motion an unprecedented disruption to daily life, the economy and society that would define the year and reshape the world.

The virus, which had emerged late the previous year, spread rapidly from country to country, overwhelming health systems, filling hospitals and claiming lives on a scale not seen from a pandemic in generations. Governments scrambled to respond to a fast-moving and poorly understood threat.

In an effort to slow the spread, countries imposed sweeping restrictions, closing borders, schools and businesses, and urging or ordering people to stay at home. Billions of people around the world found their lives transformed, as work, education and social life moved online or ground to a halt.

The economic consequences were severe, as the shutdowns triggered a sharp downturn, threw millions out of work and disrupted supply chains across the globe. Governments responded with massive emergency spending to support households and businesses.

The pandemic also spurred an extraordinary scientific mobilisation, as researchers raced to understand the virus and to develop treatments and vaccines at unprecedented speed, an effort that would bear fruit in the development of effective vaccines in record time.

The crisis exposed vulnerabilities and inequalities, strained societies and tested institutions, while also prompting acts of solidarity, sacrifice and resilience. It accelerated trends such as remote work and the shift to digital life, with lasting effects. The pandemic became the defining global event of the era, a shared and traumatic experience that touched nearly every person on Earth and whose consequences, medical, economic, social and psychological, would be felt for years to come.