Editor’s note: The Times is counting down 2020’s most noteworthy stories as determined by The Times editorial staff.

There is no bigger story of 2020 than the global coronavirus pandemic. The airborne virus brought economies to a halt, changed the way we educate our children and the way we work, and claimed the lives of nearly 350,000 Americans.

The virus emerged in late 2019 and by February health officials reported more than 45,000 cases of COVID-19 and 1,116 deaths, the overwhelming majority in China’s Hubei province, home to the city of Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak.

In Cullman County, schools, health care officials and government leaders watched what was happening and prepared to respond. Cullman City School Superintendent Susan Patterson said the school system was taking cues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).

Patterson said the district was following ADPH recommendations to encourage students to follow “respiratory etiquette,” by educating them and providing ample supplies, such as hand sanitizer, soaps and tissues.

Cullman County couple Len and June Brooks were among the first local residents to encounter the virus while on a two-week cruise to Hawaii. Several passengers and crew on the Brooks’ ship came down with the virus, resulting in a two-week quarantine period for the Brooks and other passengers at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

In mid-March local testing sites began opening in Cullman as the virus spread, and the hospital began placing restrictions on visitors. Shortly after, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced that she was closing all kindergarten through 12th grade schools from March 19 – April 6. 

Students would not go back to in-person learning until August.

The virus canceled sporting events, local fundraisers and festivals. When Ivey issued a Stay-At-Home order in April for all but “essential workers,” it cost people jobs and challenged businesses to find ways to continue to operate. Elections were delayed; funerals, weddings and other large gatherings were scaled down or put on hold. The stock market crashed harder and faster than it had since the crash of 1929, but at the end of the year had risen to early 2020 levels. Nursing homes remain closed to outside visitors.

Masks became safety measure, a fashion statement and a political battleground.

But the biggest toll has been the lives lost. Across the nation, the United State has lost almost as many people to the coronavirus – nearly 350,000 – in 10 months as it lost in combat in four years during World War II.

Cullman County has lost nearly 80 people to the virus, and the intensive care unit at Cullman Regional Medical Center this week is at 180 percent capacity, the highest in the state. 

Lindsey Dossey, vice president of marketing and communications at CRMC, said this week, “We are working to care for the patients that need us, but we continue to need help in order to slow the spread of this virus. Our staff is tired, and our community members with family members who are hospitalized are hurting. We need prayers and we need our community to help slow the spread.”

Cullman played a role in developing treatments for the virus, with the Cullman Clincial Trials testing treatment and equipment to detect the disease.

“Through these studies, Cullman is becoming a center for research in COVID treatments and we plan to continue this well into 2021,” said Alex Seligson, site manager for Cullman Clinical Trials, in August. “Even with the imminent vaccine distribution, this virus will unfortunately not be leaving us soon and treatment options are needed in the community. We are happy to see Cullman residents having the same access to these innovate treatments as many of the academic medical centers found mostly in large metropolitan areas.”

As the year drew to a close, there was light at the end of the tunnel with the advent of two new vaccines. CRMC began vaccinating staff with the first of two shots on Dec. 15. Critical care nurse Donna Snow was the first to receive the shot.

“This is the first step…” said Snow at a press conference that afternoon. “Knowing that we have an answer and this is part of the answer, it’s going to take a while for everything to come into play. It’s not a quick fix. But this is a start.”

First responders, nursing home staff and residents were the next to begin vaccinations. It’s anticipated the vaccine will be available for the general public in the spring or summer of 2021.

Operation Warp Speed, which incentivized the development of a vaccine and its distribution, was expected to result in 20 million Americans receiving the first shot by the end of 2020. However, the U.S. has fallen short of that goal, and states have said they are not getting the amount of vaccine they’d anticipated.

Alabama state health officer Dr. Scott Harris said they’d expected to receive 48,750 doses of the Pfizer vaccine but, the total allocation has been reduced to 29,250. The state began vaccinations with the Moderna vaccine at the end of the year. According to Harris, there are 300,000 Alabamians who are eligible to receive the shot in the first round of vaccines; however, by the end of December, less than half that number had been vaccinated.

Even with the vaccines rolling out, though, health experts say masks – the bit of cloth that has created great controversy in the community and across the nation and come to symbolize 2020 – are likely to be with us well into 2021.

Covid cases in the United States, 2020: 19,960,007

Covid deaths in the United States, 2020: 345,316

Covid cases in Alabama, 2020: 365,747

Covid deaths in Alabama, 2020: 4,872

Covid cases in Cullman County, 2020: 7,194

Covid deaths in Cullman County, 2020: 78

1. Single vehicle accident claims lives of two teens, April 27

2. Braving the depths: Smith Lake divers face unique underwater challenges, July 25

3. Cullman has first reported death due to COVID-19, April 3

4. ‘We met in jail:’ Law enforcement reflects on 2011 tornado — which even left wedding bells in its wake, April 25

5. Cullman limits number of customers inside stores, April 3

6. RESULTS: 2020 Primary Election, March 3

7. Rumors Deli not open to dine-in customers after threat of losing license, May 7

8. Barnette clarifies parent notification regarding COVID-19, July 14

9. NWS confirms three tornadoes in Cullman County Sunday, April 13

10. Former Warehouse District proprietor charged with stealing more than $200,000 from business associate, Sept. 25