THE past 12 months have been eventful, to say the least. Despite the novel coronavirus having emerged in late 2019 and spreading globally in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic still dominated the news on a variety of platforms. We take a look at the year that is 2021.

       Rush on vaccination

       > Distribution of Covid-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna started in early 2021 after being approved for emergency use in December 2020.

       > On Feb 21, Malaysia received its first batch of 312,390 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine doses.

       > Three phases of Malaysia’s vaccination rollout programme in 2021:

       PHASE 1

       Target: 500,000 people

       February-April: Frontliners consisting of public and private healthcare personnel, as well as essential services, defence and security personnel.

       PHASE 2

       Target: 9.4 million people

       April-August: Remainder of healthcare, essential services, defence and security personnel, senior citizens (aged 60 and above), high-risk groups with chronic diseases and people with disabilities.

       PHASE 3

       Target: At least 13.7 million people

       May 2021-February 2022: Adult population aged 18 years and above (citizens and non-citizens). Priority given to those in the red zones; followed by people in yellow zones and finally those in green zones.

       Key events related to Covid-19 in Malaysia

       Jan 12: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah proclaims a state of emergency until Aug 1 to battle the pandemic, following a surge in new cases and death toll.

       Feb 24: The national vaccination programme kicks off, with then prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin receiving Malaysia’s first shot of the vaccine.

       March 29: Daily new infections fall below 1,000 for the first time in 2021.

       May 10: A movement control order (MCO) is announced for the entire country, effective June 1.

       May 22: The total number of cases breaches 500,000.

       May 2: Opt-in online registration for AstraZeneca vaccines opens at noon, amid hiccups and glitches.

       June 1: The first phase of the strict national MCO begins. This month saw the highest number of deaths at 2,374.

       June 15: The four-phase National Recovery Plan (NRP) is unveiled, in which MCO measures will be gradually eased.

       June 28: The total death toll passes 5,000.

       July 5: Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Pahang and Perlis are the first states to enter phase two of NRP.

       July 25: The total number of Covid-19 cases surpasses 1 million.

       July 26: Parliament meets for the first time in 2021.

       Aug 1: State of Emergency ends.

       Aug 4: Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan enter phase three of NRP.

       Aug 4: Malaysia hit another record high in new cases with 19,819 infections, taking the national total to 1,183,110. Daily fatalities hit a new high of 257.

       Aug 26: The highest number of cases recorded in one day, to date, at 24,599.

       Oct 3: Daily new infections dropped below 10,000 and have not risen past that level since.

       Oct 10: Malaysia achieves target of vaccinating 90% of its adult population.

       Oct 13: Start of vaccine booster jab programme.

       Dec 2: First case of Omicron variant detected – a 19-year-old South African university student in Ipoh who arrived from South Africa through Singapore on Nov 19.

       Covid-19 variants

       After Alpha B.1.1.7, Beta B.1.351, Gamma B.1.1.248 and Delta B.1.617.2 – all identified in 2020 – comes Omicron B.1.1.5.29. It was first reported in South Africa and documented on Nov 24, possessing 12 spike mutations.

       Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

       In other Malaysian news

       August: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resigns as prime minister along with his Cabinet after losing their majority amid political turmoil. Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob takes over as Prime Minister.

       Nov 30: Kuala Lumpur wins Malaysia Cup after a 32-year wait, defeating Johor.

       Rosilawati Baharuddin (right) and her sister Norahayati Baharuddin checking their damaged clothes in Kampung Serai, Hulu Langat, following the massive floods that hit several states. --- AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

       December: The weekend of Dec 18 will be remembered for one of the worst floods the country has seen in decades.

       The continuous heavy rain that started on Dec 17 caused devastating floods in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negri Sembilan and Pahang where homes and vehicles in low-lying areas are submerged in water. Perak and Melaka are also affected.

       Over 40 deaths have been reported. More than 60,000 people are displaced in over 400 evacuation centres in eight states.

       On Dec 28, another downpour causes flash floods in parts of Kajang in Selangor. The worst affected area is Taman Lembah Mewah, where water rose to knee level but receded after 30 minutes.

       International highlights

       January: Kamala Harris inaugurated, not only as the US’ first female vice-president but also one of African-American and South Asian descent.

       February: Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organisation.

       March: World’s largest painting “The Journey of Humanity” by British artist Sacha Jafri sells in Dubai, UAE, for US$62mil to raise funds for children’s charities.

       Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano erupts in March for the first time in 800 years and after more than 50,000 earthquakes.

       April: World’s longest pedestrian bridge at 516m opens in Portugal’s Arouca Geopark.

       May:

       > India is the first country to record more than 400,000 new Covid-19 cases in one day (401,993).

       > Microsoft announces it is retiring Internet Explorer next year, after more than 25 years.

       July:

       > New York records the worst air quality in the world due to smoke from 80 wild fires on the US west coast.

       > After being postponed in 2020, the Summer Olympics are finally held in Tokyo, Japan, from July 23 to Aug 8.

       > A record rainfall and flood killed about 200 people in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

       August: ？？It rains for the first time at Greenland ice sheets’ highest point – the Summit Station research facility. The rain coincides with warmer temperatures that cause melting across more than 777,000 sq km of the ice sheet.

       September:

       > El Salvador becomes the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

       > First edition of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein sells for US$1.17mil, setting a new world record for a printed work by a woman.

       October:

       > Global outage of Facebook and its apps, including Instagram and WhatsApp, for six hours.

       > Nobel Peace Prize awarded to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression”.

       > William Shatner becomes the oldest person to reach space, travelling aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on a 10-minute flight.

       > Michael Jordan’s 1984 Nike Air Ships sell for US$1.47mil at Sotheby’s, a new record for sneakers at auction.

       > Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook will change its corporate name to Meta.

       November:

       > Pop group Abba released their first album of new material in 40 years, titled Voyage.

       > South Sudan experiences the worst flood in 60 years that affected 780,000 people.

       December: Germany’s first female chancellor, Angela Merkel, bows out after 16 years at the helm.

       Tokyo Olympics notable moments

       > Japanese judokas Uta Abe and brother Hifumi make history as first siblings to win Olympic gold medals in different events on the same day.

       > Italian Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar avoid a jump-off by agreeing to share the high jump gold medal after tying on 2.37m.

       Triathlete Flora Duffy claims historic first-ever Olympic gold medal for Bermuda in the women’s event at the Tokyo Games.