Chapter one: The beginning The United States reported its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 21, 2020. Three days later, Illinois reported its first case. During this time, Iowa started preparations, including seminars for schools and businesses to learn about what to do in case an outbreak occurred. On March 6, Nebraska reports its first case, closing in on Iowa. Gov. Kim Reynolds orders partial activation of the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) the next day. "We knew I think, from the very beginning, this was going to be serious. I don't know if we thought it would last a year, but we knew it was going to be serious," Reynolds told Local 5's Rachel Droze in an interview last month.