(WTAJ) — It’s been five years since COVID-19 turned our world upside down from remote work to masking and vaccines.
The virus has been blamed for more than seven million deaths worldwide, although the data, like everything else about the virus, is still being researched and updated. Let’s take a look back at what’s changed and what we’ve learned in the last five years.
On Dec. 19, 2019, a cluster of patients in China’s Hubei Province, in the city of Wuhan, began to experience the symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness. Little did anyone know the illness they were experiencing would cause worldwide shutdowns, long wait times for testing and millions of deaths. Along with some lifestyle changes that would be permanent.
Word spread through televisions and newspapers. Some responded with sheer panic while others laughed.
“I remember kind of like we were like, almost laughing about it because it was like, oh, wow. Like, there were, like, this stuff on the internet about it. Just. This is so crazy. This will never affect us all the way over here,” Penn State University Student Caleb Mowery said.
However, COVID-19 did reach us, along with every corner of the globe within a matter of weeks.
On Jan. 20, 2020, the first laboratory-confirmed case of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in the U.S. showed up in Washington State. Then on Jan. 23, 2020, Wuhan China was placed under lockdown.
The CDC confirmed Jan. 30, 2020, the first person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Chicago, bringing the total number of cases to seven. Later on, March 11, 2020, more than 100,000 cases of the virus were in 114 countries and the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
In America, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency March 13, 2020. On March 15, states began to implement shutdowns to stop the spread of the disease you may recall the phrase “Three weeks to flatten the curve.”
However, the restrictions lasted much longer in states like Pennsylvania.
“I said to the guys, I’m not sure when I’ll see you again. And a couple of them kind of very pooh poohed it, like, oh, it’s no big deal. I said, listen, I think we’re about to get shut down. And we didn’t meet in person again for well over a year,” Clearfield County Commissioner Dave Glass said.
Masks were also mandated. Whether going to the store, the park, the doctor’s office, almost everywhere required a mask. Some fought and some followed.
Juniata’s current Public Health Director Dr. Tia Warrick, who was in New York at the time as a research director for the University of Buffalo Neurosurgery, was one of many working on the frontlines.
“We were really short staffed, many departments that were specialty or weren’t, specifically necessary were shut down. So many patients couldn’t have access to a doctor if there was an issue in shortage with medications,” Dr. Warrick said.
In Pennsylvania, the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded on March 6, 2020. At the time, Rachel Levine, the former assistant secretary for Health of the United States, said they expected COVID-19 to spread throughout the Commonwealth.
The first documented COVID-19 death in PA was on March 18, 2020, former Governor Tom Wolf had businesses close and stay-at-home orders were put in place for certain counties. On April 1, 2020, the entire state was ordered to stay at home.
With businesses struggling to make ends meet and countless people no longer collecting a paycheck, the federal government began issuing assistance payments. Clearfield County was able to give grants to businesses to help keep doors open.
“We based it on what we were given. If you showed us that you had a need, we paid other companies. If they showed that they were still profitable, we didn’t,” Glass said.
Meanwhile, hospitals were overcrowded with more and more patients admitted for symptoms, some requiring respirators.
“Definitely we were seeing far greater numbers of patients, not only being positive, but being hospitalized with COVID-19 a couple of years ago compared to where we are today,” Penn Highlands Chief Medical Officer Dr. Trian Abla said.
As a result of the pandemic, grocery stores ran low on supplies. Toilet paper was the hottest commodity. Shelves were empty and stores limited the amount customers could purchase. Hand sanitizer, bacterial wipes and general cleaning supplies were also in short supply.
With the state shut down, most schools moved to virtual learning and much of the workforce started working from home. While remote work has remained for many, providing more flexibility, the transition was clunky at best.
“We’ve discovered that a lot of meetings that we could do and that we used to do in person, maybe we can do via Zoom,” Glass said.
Another milestone during the pandemic was the creation of the vaccine. Many vaccines take about 10-15 years to create, but this one was developed in under a year.
In the beginning, a vaccine shortage left most struggling to find the shots and pharmacies created waitlists. Today, the COVID-19 vaccine is readily available to anyone.
For many, COVID-19 was a difficult time, not being able to see loved ones, fearful of getting someone at risk sick or worse. However, doctors and hospitals will be better equipped in the future to handle a crisis like this, and many say, so will the rest of the world.
“Every new disease that pops up is actually opposite. In fact, I think that people have been desensitized and almost still kind of working through the trauma of COVID that, you know, definitely are more prepared and more aware for sure. And to take those precautions for themselves. But as far as, like going into the same panic, I think it’s an opposite effect,” Dr. Warrick said.
That complacency may be why other viruses are now spreading faster, even as COVID-19 cases wane.
Five years after it was first discovered, the impact of COVID-19 is still being counted. According to USA Facts, Pennsylvania saw more than 3.5 million reported cases resulting in over 50,000 deaths.
Looking back, there was also lost revenue, increased costs, education loss and a psychological toll that’s simply impossible to quantify.
