The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Response to the 2019–20 Coronavirus Pandemic

Evans, Matthew T.

In November 2019 a new coronavirus, apparently originating in bats, spread to one or more human beings and then began spreading from person to person. The first death occurred on January 11, 2020 in Wuhan, Hubei Province China. Three months later the virus had spread to 233 countries and territories, more than one million people had been infected, 100,000 had died, and “more than [one third] of humanity [was] under some form of lockdown” (including 95 percent of Americans). The pandemic dramatically reduced commerce and social interaction all over the world and profoundly affected governments, businesses, and other institutions, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (alternately, “the Church,” in appropriate contexts and Latter-day Saints for Church members).