The CDC issues a Level 1 travel advisory for Wuhan, China. Level 1 advisories tell travelers to “practice usual precautions.” It added: Travelers to Wuhan “should avoid living or dead animals, animal markets, and contact with sick people.” (Source)

The CDC announces enhanced health screening of passengers arriving from Wuhan, China, at the three major airports that have the most traffic from there: LAX, SFO and JFK. (Source)

The White House announces the formation of a coronavirus task force, to be led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. (Source)

HHS Secretary Azar declares the coronavirus a public health emergency. (Source)

Trump bars most travelers from China, but there are exceptions for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents and close family. The CDC had already urged Americans to avoid all nonessential travel to China. (Source)

The Food and Drug Administration gives emergency use authorization to CDC test kits for the coronavirus. (Source)

The CDC begins shipping test kits for the coronavirus to select labs. It is soon discovered that one of the elements in these test kits is faulty. The U.S. would struggle to get up to speed on testing capability, limiting who could be tested and obscuring the severity of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. (Source)

The Trump administration asks Congress for $2.5 billion in emergency funding to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Congressional Democrats and even some Republicans immediately say this isn’t enough. (Source)

Trump names Vice President Pence to lead the coronavirus response, replacing Azar as the top official on the coronavirus task force. (Source)

Trump suspends travel to the U.S. by people who have been in Iran in the previous 14 days. There are exceptions, including for U.S. citizens. (Source)

To try to boost testing capacity, the FDA allows university and state public health laboratories to begin developing and performing their own coronavirus tests. (Source)

Pence announces the CDC will issue new guidance saying anyone can be tested for the coronavirus, subject to a doctor’s orders. But major problems with testing remain, making it difficult to get a test. (Source)

Trump signs an $8.3 billion emergency funding bill to aid the coronavirus response. It is significantly larger than what was initially requested by the White House and was passed with significant support in Congress. (Source)

Trump restricts travel from 26 European nations. As with the previous travel bans, there are exceptions for U.S. citizens and others. The restrictions also initially exclude the U.K. and Ireland, though they are later added. (Source)

The FDA authorizes for use the first privately developed test for the coronavirus. The next day it gives the go-ahead to another. These private-sector tests are touted as key to expanding testing capacity, but ramp-up remains slow. (Source)

Trump declares a national emergency and calls on states to request a “major disaster” designation as well. A month later, Trump had approved disaster declarations in all 50 states. (Source)

Trump announces his task force’s “15 days to slow the spread” social distancing guidelines for all Americans. (Source)

Trump signs the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which makes testing for the virus free, and expands paid sick leave. This is the second major package addressing the virus to become law in March. (Source)

Trump announces he’ll be invoking the Defense Production Act “just in case we need it.” He would later say he’s just using it for “leverage” and would be criticized for not using its full powers early on to compel production and distribute needed supplies. (Source)

The State Department issues a global Level 4 health advisory telling Americans to avoid all international travel. (Source)

Trump signs the approximately $2 trillion CARES Act, the third coronavirus relief bill to pass Congress in March and the largest rescue package in history. (Source)

Using the powers of the Defense Production Act, Trump orders General Motors and a health care vendor to produce ventilators. Trump will also use the DPA for N95 respirator masks, and to ban exports of certain medical supplies and to prevent hoarding of supplies. (Source)

Trump announces the “15 days to slow the spread” guidelines will continue through the end of April, after scientific advisers show him modeling that shows the potential for hundreds of thousands of deaths without strong social distancing measures. (Source)

The Trump administration announces Project Airbridge, a public-private partnership designed to expedite the arrival of health care supplies. The first planeload comes from China. (Source)

The CDC recommends that Americans wear simple cloth masks when going out in public. The recomendation emphasizes the need to do it in areas with extensive community transmission of the coronavirus. NPR reported this was a concession to White House officials, who didn’t want it to be nationwide. (Source)

Trump announces that U.S. Navy hospital ships harbored by New York City and Los Angeles would begin to accept coronavirus patients, after few non-pandemic cases went aboard. The hospital ships were part of the federal government’s effort to build hospital bed capacity in certain areas. (Source)

The CDC announces new guidelines for how critical employees can return to work, including wearing a face mask at all times. (Source)

Trump administration releases guidelines for “Reopening America Again,” advising states on phases to begin lifting social distancing restrictions. (Source)