A timeline of community events for March–July 2020 was published in First Response: Springfield-Greene County Confronts COVID-19.
2020
- Aug. 13: Greene County approves first round of CARES Act grants
- Aug. 17: Missouri State University and other area universities return to in-person instruction with massive safety protocols in place
- Aug. 20: Greene County Commission approves $35 million in CARES Act funding for community organizations
- Aug. 24: Springfield Public Schools begins school year with the choice of fully online learning or a hybrid model with in-person instruction two days a week
- Aug. 24: Missouri State reports 141 COVID cases within its first week of resumed operations
- Oct. 5: Springfield City Council extends masking ordinance to Jan. 9, 2021
- Oct. 23: CFO surpasses $3 million in COVID-19 recovery grantmaking
- December: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt files lawsuits against school districts across the state over mask mandates.
- Dec. 10: FDA grants emergency authorization to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
- Dec. 14: Springfield City Council extends face covering, occupancy restrictions and social distancing requirements in Springfield until April 9; U.S. begins mass vaccination effort
2021
- Jan. 1: U.S. surpasses 20 million cases
- Jan. 3: Gov. Mike Parson ends Missouri’s state of emergency order
- Feb. 22: U.S. surpasses 500,000 deaths
- March 19: U.S. vaccinations reach 100 million
- March 26: Donors contribute more than $700,000 to “Give Ozarks: Rally for Recovery” online giving day.
- April 16: Springfield transitions to “Yellow” phase of “Road to Recovery.”
- May 3: Springfield City Council removes outdoor masking requirements, except for large crowds.
- May 4: U.S. announces goal of 70% vaccination rate by July 4
- June 18: CoxHealth announces it may begin diverting COVID-19 patients due to capacity issues
- July 7: Delta variant becomes dominant over alpha
- July: Springfield makes national and international news for its early surge of the delta variant
- July 14: Springfield requests State of Missouri help to create overflow site; withdraws request on July 30, citing slow response from state
- Aug. 11: CFO launches Greene for Vaccine incentive program with Springfield-Greene County Health Department and Community Partnership of the Ozarks
- Aug. 17: Out-of-state anti-vaccine protester harasses CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards in parking deck, kicking off a spate of local protest events
- Sept. 28: Greene County reaches 50 percent rate for fully vaccinated residents 12 and over
- Oct. 15: Eight CFO regional affiliate foundations share $60,000 in Coover challenge grants for efforts to increase regional vaccination rates
- Dec. 8: CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield note significant increase in positive cases, signaling the third surge
2022
- Jan. 15: Springfield Public Schools reinstates mask mandate for teachers, staff; optional for students
- Jan. 18: SPS closes schools, along with regional districts, as omicron cases spike.
- Mid-January: Omicron variant raises positive tests to average 771 a day for two-week period
- Feb. 15: Health leaders announce Greene County’s omicron surge is waning
- Feb. 22: Returning from President’s Day long weekend, local educational institutions adopt mask-optional policies
- March 2: COVID-19 vaccine approved for children 5–11
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