The California Department of Public Health announced the state’s first two cases of coronavirus infection on Jan. 26. The first death was recorded March 4. In the following weeks, confirmed cases shot into the thousands, with hospitalizations increasing exponentially. But because many patients haven’t been tested, the number of confirmed cases is believed to be an undercount. 

Since the outbreak began in China, the U.S. has taken the lead in confirmed cases. Newsom projects the virus will reach its peak in California in mid-May, though other models differ.