According to records of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, on Jan.3, 2020, China informed the World Health Organization that they had identified more than 40 cases of pneumonia of an unknown kind that did not respond to normal pneumonia treatments in Wuhan.

On Jan. 10, WHO announced that the outbreak in Wuhan was caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The CDC published information about the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) on its website.

By March 11, after more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the WHO.

By April 10, the United States had more reported COVID-19 cases and deaths than any other country — more than 18,600 confirmed deaths and more than 500,000 confirmed cases in less than four months. With 159,937 confirmed cases, New York State had more reported cases of COVID-19 than Spain, Italy or China.

According to CDC records, “Amid critical hospital bed and ventilator shortages, aerial images emerge of workers in hazmat suits burying coffins in mass graves at Hart Island off the Bronx, an area used for over 150 years by New York City officials as a mass burial site for those with no next-of-kin or who cannot afford funerals.”

On April 3, 2020, the CDC recommended face cloth covering in public areas where adequate social distancing was not assured.

As of Oct. 7, 2020, New York State Health Law Section 66-3.2, “Face-Coverings,” made masking mandatory during the global pandemic. “Face-coverings shall include, but are not limited to, cloth masks (e.g. homemade sewn, quick cut, bandana), surgical masks, N-95 respirators, and face shields,” the law read.

Immediately, a profusion of do-it-yourself patterns for face masks appeared on social media, which was a good thing, since you couldn’t buy one for love or money. Those who possessed N95 respirator and surgical masks, or were perhaps hoarding them, were encouraged to donate them to hospitals and medical first responders.

The practice of wearing a face mask when out in public has long been socially acceptable in Eastern Asian culture for health reasons, and even for warmth in winter.

In the West, masking has not been common, and, sometimes even frowned upon. There have been recent reports in the United States of people taking offense at, or expressing suspicion of, those wearing masks.

“I don’t want your germs either!” a woman yelled at an elderly Asian man who was wearing a white mask inside a Lake Placid supermarket. When questioned, the woman said that she felt insulted that the man apparently considered her to be a disease-carrier.

People around the world, and even in small Adirondack towns, took to masking their faces to inhibit the spread of the virus.

In the early days of the pandemic, medical masks were in high demand, and people were creative. Some homemade masks were sewn, some required no needle or thread, some were made from T-shirts or fabric from the rag-bag, some were secured with elastic, rubber bands or hair scrunchies and some tied around the head with twine or fabric strings. Some swore by cloth vacuum cleaner bags, but were advised against using HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) vacuum filters, which are made from interlaced glass fibers.

I knew people who made their own masks from anything from disposable kitchen wipes to silk scarves.

Now, “As of January 4, 2023, around 81 percent of the U.S. population … received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination,” according to “Statista,” an online platform based in Hamburg, Germany, which disseminates market and consumer data. Rapidly developed vaccines and medicines have mitigated the effects of the disease and rendered it less terrifying for many.

Some people are masking still, but face coverings have generally become more sophisticated. The CDC has identified N95 respirators, or masks, as the most effective face masks against COVID-19. These masks and KN95 masks are designed to filter at least 95 percent of airborne particles, both large and small.

While the pandemic has calmed down, it has affected us in many ways, in some cases in ways we are not even aware of. Next week we’ll talk to people about the ways COVID has changed our lives.

Have a good week.

(Martha Allen lives in Keene Valley. She has been writing for the News for more than 20 years.)