when did covid start in the us

COVID-19 started in the United States with the first reported case in late January 2020. The initial confirmed case was reported in the state of Washington in January 2020, with the person having traveled from Wuhan, China. Evidence also suggests that the virus may have been present in the U.S. as early as mid-December 2019 based on antibody testing on stored blood samples, indicating earlier undetected spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially confirmed the first U.S. case on January 20, 2020. The outbreak escalated quickly from there, leading to a public health emergency declaration in January and a pandemic declaration by the WHO in March 2020.