December 2019
First case of COVID-19 is identified in
Wuhan, China
Jan. 21
Jan. 21 First case of COVID-19 in U.S.
is identified in Washington state
Jan. 23
Wuhan lockdown begins
February 2020
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) officially
names COVID-19
March 1
St. Joe’s students studying abroad advised to return to the U.S.
March 11
World Health Organization (WHO) declares COVID-19 a pandemic
March 12
St. Joe’s transfers to fully virtual learning until at least April 9; A-10 Conference cancels all spring sports
March 13
Then U.S. President Donald Trump declares COVID-19 a national emergency
March 18
University announces the rest of the semester will continue fully virtual
March 31
Class of 2020 commencement is canceled
April 1
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, implements statewide stay-at-home order; university announces “a few” probable cases of COVID-19 on campus
May 26
George Floyd is killed launching a wave of protests throughout the U.S.
May 28
U.S. COVID-19 deaths hit 100,000
Timeline
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June 8
National Bureau of Economic Research declares that the U.S. economy is in a recession
June 15
Food and Drug Administration revokes the emergency authorization to use hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients, citing there are no benefits to its use
July 22
The U.S. strikes a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine
Sept. 18
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies of complications with metastatic pancreatic cancer
Sept. 22
The U.S. surpasses 200,000 deaths due to COVID-19
Sept. 22
The university begins mandatory surveillance testing
Timeline
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Oct. 26
Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Oct. 26
Two Philadelphia police officers fatally shoot Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man
Oct. 26
Philadelphia experiences a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases throughout October, one month after the city hit its lowest rate of new cases
Nov. 7
The Associated Press calls Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president
Nov. 25
Thanksgiving Break begins and many students leave campus for the year
Nov. 39
Classes resume virtually for the remainder of the fall 2020 semester
Dec. 12
The fall 2020 semester comes to a close marking the first full semester of mixed-modality classes
Jan 6
Supporters of Donald Trump storm the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to stop proceedings certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election; five people died
Jan 13
The university announces that entry testing for the spring semester will be required for all undergraduate students and highly recommended for other community members
Jan 19
Philadelphia adds Phase 1b groups as eligible for vaccination
Jan. 21
Pennsylvania surpasses 20,000 deaths
Jan. 25
The first day of classes of the spring 2021 semester take place
Feb 5
Campus dining options open with limited capacity
Feb. 10
St. Joe’s announces it has signed a letter of intent to merge with the University of the Sciences
Feb. 22-28
Philadelphia surpasses 100,000 people fully vaccinated
March 12
The university announces that it will hold an in-person commencement ceremony for the Class of 2021 on May 22
March 25
Pennsylvania surpasses one million COVID-19 cases
March 31
St. Joe’s announces that it anticipates it will be able “to significantly expand upon our onground courses and operations for the fall of 2021”
April 16
All adults in Philadelphia are eligible to be vaccinated
April 26 – May 2
500,000 Philadelphians are vaccinated