STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Five years ago today, Americans began seeing how a virus that had been detected in Wuhan, China, was about to reshape everyday life. On March 11, 2020, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, held a news conference.
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TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS: We have made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Dow tanked - its worst day since Black Monday in 1987.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Live pictures again of the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ MarketSite here with the Dow falling over a thousand points. The WHO declaring COVID-19 a pandemic.
INSKEEP: That night, five years ago, at the Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City, the doctor for the Oklahoma City Thunder ran onto the court just as the team was preparing to face the Utah Jazz. NBA fans watched with bewilderment as coaches and referees huddled.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER: The officials now appear to be clearing the floor. Both teams have gone back to the locker room.
MARTÍNEZ: Seeing that game on TV, Steve, I got to admit, that freaked me out.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: Later, Utah Jazz all-star center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. The NBA suspended its entire season. That night, President Trump went on TV. He said his administration would get the outbreak under control, and he announced new travel restrictions.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days.
INSKEEP: The travel ban prompted rebuke from the European Union and stirred even more confusion because, at that point, the public didn't know very much about the origins of the virus or how to stop it from spreading. The WHO estimates that by the end of that year, 2020, COVID-19 had killed at least 3 million people worldwide. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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