One year ago, on the eve of the eventful day that signaled the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — March 11, 2020 — a plurality of Americans (44 percent) said the threat of the virus had been “exaggerated,” according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll conducted at the time. More people said their peers were “overreacting” (36 percent) than said they were “behaving appropriately” (30 percent). Just 6 percent said they had worn a mask. And nearly everyone (88 percent) predicted that fewer than 10,000 Americans would ultimately die from the disease.
[‘The most unusual day’: How March 11, 2020, marked the start