Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 (disease) SARS-CoV-2 (virus) Cases Deaths
Timeline 2019 2020 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2021 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November responses December responses 2022 January responses February responses March responses April responses May responses June responses July responses August responses September responses October responses November December 2023 2024
Locations By country and territory Africa Antarctica Asia Europe North America Oceania South America By conveyance Cruise ships Naval ships
International response Endemic phase Evacuations Face masks International aid Origin Lockdowns by country Misinformation by governments Fake treatments Social distancing Software Travel United Nations World Health Organization WTO IP waiver Undercounting of deaths COVID-19 apps Zero-COVID National responses Africa China European Union Germany Ghana India Ireland Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Philippines Russia Sweden UK government US federal government Vietnam
Medical response Disease testing Breathalyzer Development Drug development Drug repurposing Public health mitigation Vaccines History Research VITT Deployment Authorizations Operation Warp Speed Misinformation and hesitancy US Vaccine card Vaccine passports Current vaccines CoronaVac Covaxin Convidecia Janssen Medigen Moderna Novavax Oxford–AstraZeneca Pfizer–BioNTech Sinopharm BIBP Sputnik V
Variants Variants of concern Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Omicron Other variants Epsilon Zeta Eta Theta Iota Kappa Lambda Mu Cluster 5 Lineage B.1.617
Economic impact and recession Arts and culture Aviation Cannabis Cinema films Disney Fashion Financial markets Food industry Food security Journalism Music Performing arts Retail Shipping Television US sportscasting programs Tourism Video games By country Canada India Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US By sport Association football Baseball Basketball Combat sports Cricket Disc golf Gaelic games Gridiron football Ice hockey Motorsport Rugby league
Impacts Animals Alzheimer's disease patients Black people Crime Death rates by country Disability Domestic violence Emergency evacuations Education Female Environment Hospitals Language LGBT community Long-term care Media coverage Mental health symptoms Migration Military Notable deaths Other health issues Politics diplomacy Popular culture Protests Pregnancy Prisons Religion Catholic Church Hajj Science and technology Social media Strikes Suicides Telehealth Xenophobia and racism Society Ireland Malaysia New Zealand Russia UK US
COVID-19 portal
v t e

This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2021, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.

Reactions and measures in Africa

Reactions and measures in the Americas

Reactions and measures in the Eastern Mediterranean

Reactions and measures in Europe

Reactions and measures in South and Southeast Asia

1 March

• In Malaysia, preschoolers, Year One, and Year Two primary pupils resume face-to-face classes as part of a phased reopening of schools.^[1]

2 March

• Malaysian Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur and the states of Selangor, Johor, and Penang would enter the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).^[2]

4 March

• The Malaysian Special Committee on Ensuring Access to Covid-19 Vaccine Supply (JKJAV) confirmed that 80,336 Malaysians had received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.^[3]

11 March

• The Malaysian Government announced the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No.2) Ordinance 2021, which states that those who spread "fake news" "by any means, with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause fear or alarm to the public" could face a fine of RM100,000 or three years imprisonment or both.^[4]

24 March

• The Singaporean and Malaysian Foreign Ministers Vivian Balakrishnan and Hishamuddin Hussein have confirmed that the two governments will be working together to recognise each other's COVID-19 vaccine certificates with the goal of restoring cross-border travel in the future.^[5]

29 March

The Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin confirmed that the second phase of the country's national immunisation programme would begin on 19 April 2021, focusing on the elderly, disabled and those with comorbidities.^[6]

Reactions and measures in the Western Pacific

1 March

• In New Zealand, 28 port workers at Tauranga received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the second group of essential workers to be vaccinated.^[7]

5 March

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that Auckland will move to Alert Level 2 lockdown from Alert Level 3 at 6 am on 7 March. Meanwhile, the rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 1 at 6am on 7 March.^[8][9]

7 March

• Fiji receives 12,000 doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through the World Health Organization's COVAX initiative.^[10]

8 March

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that the New Zealand Government had secured an additional 8.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.^[11]

12 March

• In New Zealand, Auckland moved back to Alert level 1 on midday, lifting social distancing and public gathering restrictions in the city.^[12]

13 March

• New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Premier of Niue Dalton Tagelagi announced that travellers from Niue can resume quarantine free travel into New Zealand from 24 March 2021.^[13]

20 March

• The International Olympic Committee, International Paralympic Committee, Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and Government of Japan announced that international spectators are banned from entering Japan in the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics to prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection.^[14]