One year ago today: NC's 1st coronavirus case linked to Seattle area

On March 3, 2020, Gov. Roy Cooper said a man in Wake County tested positive for coronavirus. It was North Carolina’s first case of the new illness.

The patient had recently traveled to Washington state and was exposed to a long-term care facility that had reported numerous cases of coronavirus. The Wake County patient traveled through Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Feb. 22, 2020, airport officials said.

At that time, nine people had died from the illness in Washington state, all in the Seattle area. Washington state officials had reported 27 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Now, one year later, more than 28 million cases have been confirmed in the U.S., according to NBC News, and there have been more than 500,000 reported deaths.