The first known case of COVID-19 in New York State was reported one year ago this week when it was publicly announced that a Manhattan woman was found to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The March 1st case set off a month with an exponential increase in infections that would soon lead to a relentless blare of sirens through the city and a wave of death that would later be called the city’s worst mass fatality event in modern history.

To recap what happened in March 2020, Gothamist health reporter Sydney Pereira chatted with WNYC's David Furst

Click "Listen" in the player above to hear the entire conversation. For more on the story, head to Gothamist.