4 minute read
2020 Timeline In Review
JANUARY
January 3 -- The term “World War III” is thrown around after Iranian general Qassem Soleimani is assassinated.
Advertisement
January 20 -- The first case of COVID-19 in the US near Seattle.
January 26 -- Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others are killed in a helicopter crash.
FEBRUARY
February 20 -- The Boy Scouts of America filed for bankruptcy amid sexual abuse cases.
February 27 -- Utah votes to decriminalize polygamy.
MARCH
March 6 -- Governor Gary Herbert issues a state of emergency.
March 6 -- The first COVID-19 case is confirmed in Utah.
March 11 -- Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 which led to the cancellation of the game, the NBA, and soon many other sports too.
March 12 -- Governor Herbert announces 100-person limit on public gatherings.
March 12 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints suspends all services and activities.
March 13 -- Breonna Taylor is shot and killed by police in Kentucky.
March 13 -- Gov. Herbert announces the “soft closure” of all Utah K-12 schools for two weeks which lasted the rest of the school year.
March 16 -- Dine-in options at Salt Lake County restaurants are closed off for the first time. Statewide measures ended up in place not long after.
March 18 -- A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hits centered near Magna.
March 22 -- Utah health officials confirm the state’s first known death as a result of COVID-19.
March 27 -- Salt Lake City mayor issues stay at home order.
March 28 -- Utah’s National Parks closed indefinitely.
APRIL
April 4-5 -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds virtual-only sessions for their general conference sessions.
April 18-November 30 -- Over 1,500 fires reported in Utah, about $60 million in costs, and over 300,000 acres burned.
MAY
May 1 -- Utah eases statewide restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
May 4 -- Scientists confirm that Asian giant hornets, or murder hornets, were found in the US.
May 5 -- UHP trooper pulls over an erratic driver to find out it’s simply a 5-year-old boy behind the wheel.
May 15 -- The US announces “Operation Warp Speed” to try to create a vaccine for COVID-19.
May 22 -- Hall of Fame coach and Utah Jazz legend Jerry Sloan dies at 78.
May 25 -- George Floyd dies after being detained by police in Minnesota.
May 28 -- Utah Department of Health reports 215 new cases of COVID-19 that lead to the first mask mandates.
May 30 -- Rioting in downtown Salt Lake City destroys a police squad car and damages a TRAX station and nearby businesses.
May 30 -- Gov. Herbert issues a curfew for Salt Lake City while National Guard troops are deployed to the area.
JUNE
June 5 -- Video released of a police shooting and killing of Palacios-Carbajal spurs further protests in Salt Lake City.
June 5 -- Joe Biden secures enough delegates to win the Democratic Party nomination for the 2020 Presidential Election.
June 9 -- Chad Daybell is arrested.
June 27 -- Salt Lake and Summit counties are the first to have public mask mandates in Utah.
June 30 -- Salt Lake Bees, Orem Owlz, and Ogden Raptors seasons are cancelled.
JULY
July 6 -- Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox narrowly edges out former governor Jon Huntsman Jr. for the Republican gubernatorial nomination.
July 9 -- E-commerce company Wayfair is accused of human trafficking.
July 30 -- The Jazz play New Orleans in their first game of the 2019-2020 season.
AUGUST
August -- The hottest August in Utah’s history.
August 1 -- Temperatures reach 105 degrees at Salt Lake City International Airport.
August 12 -- Salt Lake City suspends use of police dogs.
August 23 -- State of emergency declared in St. George after flooding and damage from a storm.
August 28 -- Actor Chadwick Boseman dies at the age of 43. He starred in “42,” “Marshall,” and “Black Panther.”
SEPTEMBER
September 8 -- A massive windstorm knocks down thousands of trees causing millions in damage in Davis and Salt Lake counties.
September 9 -- Utah Department of Health reports 346 new cases beginning a large spike in COVID-19.
September 18 -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies from pancreatic cancer at 87.
OCTOBER
October 2 -- President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
October 7 -- Ayoola Ajay pleads guilty to murdering University of Utah student Mackenzie Lueck in 2019.
October 7 -- Vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris is held on the UofU campus.
October 9 -- Paris Hilton march and protest outside Provo Canyon School.
October 10 -- Kyle Burgess, a 26-year-old Utah man, encounters a mountain lion while heading down Slate Canyon in Provo.
October 28 -- Gail Miller announces she will sell majority ownership of the Utah Jazz to Ryan Smith of Qualtrics.
NOVEMBER
November 3 -- Cox wins the state’s gubernatorial race.
November 8 -- Alex Trebek,host of “Jeopardy!,” dies from complications of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.
November 8 -- Gov. Herbert announces a new state of emergency and a statewide mask mandate.
November 19 -- The CDC and other health officials recommend no Thanksgiving gatherings.
DECEMBER
December 7 -- Utah Royals FC announces it will relocate to Kansas City, Missouri.
December 10 -- Utah’s death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic surpasses 1,000.
December 11 -- Pfizer vaccine approved by federal regulators.
December 14 -- Dixie State University trustees vote to remove “Dixie” from the school name after 107 years.
December 15 -- Christy Mulder, is the first Utahn given the COVID-19 vaccine outside of a clinical trial.
December 26 -- University of Utah football announces the death of Ty Jordan, a star freshman running back.