2020 in spaceflight SpaceX successfully launches and deploys 60 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket, making a record fifth launch, misses the autonomous spaceport drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You", crashing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics U.S. Republican Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida tests positive for COVID-19.
The White House postpones a state visit from Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti sacks Interior Minister Agim Veliu over disagreements regarding a state of emergency in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
2020 United States elections Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld ends his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders says he will assess his presidential campaign after losing three more states (Florida, Illinois, and Arizona) to former Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries of the 2020 presidential election. Biden has 1,181 delegates, while Sanders has 885. The minimum required to win the nomination is 1,991.
In a major upset in the 2020 U.S. House of Representatives elections in Illinois, Democrat Marie Newman defeats conservative Democrat Dan Lipinski in Illinois's 3rd congressional district.
Abortion Legislation Bill 2019 The Abortion Legislation Bill 2019 passes its third reading in the New Zealand House of Representatives, legalising abortion in New Zealand.
COVID-19 pandemic Turkey reports its second death from COVID-19, a 61-year-old male patient, while the number of confirmed cases rises to 191.
A hospital ship will be deployed to the coast of Washington state by the U.S. Navy to assist in the response to COVID-19.
In the United States, several K–12 school systems will keep their learning facilities physically closed for the remainder of the academic school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in 92,000 American schools across 39 states, and 42.1 million students and their families, transitioning to online learning, while some systems will not calculate grades at all.
The United States reports its 150th death from COVID-19, with a total of at least 9,400 confirmed cases nationwide.
The United States and Canada suspend nonessential travel between the two countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
King Felipe VI of Spain addresses the nation in a special speech for the second time in his reign, and the sixth by a monarch in the democracy’s 40 years. Focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, he gives his appreciation for the work of health personnel and calls for a break in differences, stating that Spaniards can "defeat this crisis" through unification.
The British government’s Department of Health and Social Care confirms an additional 676 cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours.
The United Kingdom advises its citizens vacationing in Spain to return home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All schools in Scotland and Wales are to close, effective March 19, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
In Italy, the coronavirus death toll rises to 2,978. A total of 35,713 people have the virus in the country.
Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education says the country's COVID-19 death toll stands at 1,135 following 147 more deaths. The total number of cases rises to 17,361.
Djibouti reports its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a member of Spain's Special Operations Groups who arrived at Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport on March 14.
The Gambia reports its first confirmed case of COVID-19, a female patient in her 20s who recently returned from the United Kingdom. The patient is in isolation at a clinic in Fajara.
More than 850 million students are not attending school due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to UNESCO.
2020 Salt Lake City earthquake An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 hits Salt Lake City, Utah, with several aftershocks reported and tens of thousands of residents left without power. The earthquake is the largest in the state since the 1992 St. George earthquake.
COVID-19 pandemic President Trump signs the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law to provide economic relief to families affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The U.S. Senate approves the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, an emergency relief aid bill, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The bill will ensure that people who are employed in places with less than 500 employees will receive paid benefits while on leave. It also offers free testing for uninsured people and expands federal funding for medical coverage.
Unemployment in the United States could reach 20 percent if sufficient action is not taken in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warns.
The U.S. Treasury Department says it will ask Congress for $500 billion in direct payouts for taxpayers in order to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Under the current proposal, the payouts will consist of two tiered payments, with the amounts of each based on income level and family size.
U.S. President Donald Trump suspends all foreclosures and evictions, and invokes the Defense Production Act to address shortages of supplies needed for responding to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
The 2020 Glastonbury Festival, scheduled for June 24–28, is cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion The Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople issues a worldwide suspension of all "divine services, events, and rites, with the exception of private prayer in churches that will remain open, until the end of March".