One year with COVID-19 in St. Joseph

One year with COVID-19 in St. Joseph

One year since the world health organization declared covid-19 a global pandemic -- and life hasn't been the same since... good evening, thanks for joining us tonight, i'm bob cervera.

Kq2's kilee thomas spoke with st.

Joseph city and school leaders for a look back at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic: <<sot: mayor bill mcmurray, st joseph- "i really didn't know what to expect."

March 11, 2020 began a year unimaginable a year ago thursday- the who declared covid-19 a global pandemic.

Sot: dr anthony fauci- "it was exactly one year ago this morning, that i said 'things are going to get much worse before they get better,' but i did not realize in my mind that anything close to half a million people would die in this country."

The first week of the pandemic...st joseph had zero covid cases.

No mask order.

Grocery stores turned into a ghost town, shelves barren, sports cancelled-but students still in school.

Sot: maria burnham, sjsd health coordinator- "it was interesting because we just weren't sure."

Then two weeks later- the city of st joseph declaring a shelter in place ordinance.

Restaurants and bars closed up shop.

And work from home would unknowingly become the norm.

Sot: mcmurray- "i think we were all hoping it would be a few weeks and it would be over with.

Here we are 52 weeks later."

The st joseph school district ramped up cleaning procedures but students left for spring break and never returned.

Sot: burnham- "wow, we just came to a standstill."

ánats of sjsd phone callá sot: burnham-"i think the district still had plans to hold graduation, prom and that we would come back after spring break.

To not come back after spring break, was a little strange."

Flash forward to 2021 to date there's been 10,137 cases since the start of the pandemic in buchanan county and 172 people have died so far but the new year also brought three vaccines-4,778 buchanan county residents are now fully vaccinated against covid-19 sot: mcmurray- "i don't think we can say mission accomplished at this point, but i think we are sure close.

I hope we are."

And students are back to in-person learning, if they choose to.

Sot: burnham- "i think we've rallied together."

Life is still different.

Masks are here for now and so is the virus.

But each day is one step closer to normalcy.

Reporting in st.

Joseph, kilee thomas kq2 news.