It may seem hard to believe but it has been three years since doctors detected the first case of Covid-19 in Montgomery County. The date was March 5, 2020. It took more than six weeks for the virus to migrate to this region after the first case turned up near Seattle, Washington on January 20, 2020.
Covid-19’s Impact
Covid-19 has left an indelible mark. It has affected communities in powerful ways over these past three years from food shortages to lockdowns to job losses to neighborhoods rallying around doctors and other health care workers.
Wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing, and virtual school became routine. Covid-19 was and is still today a menace. It has punctured people’s lives and turned them upside down.
Historic Virus
Yet through it all, this historic virus will best be remembered for unleashing horrific carnage. The numbers are staggering.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says, as of March 8, more than 1.1 million Americans have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began. Overall, the CDC reports there have been more than 103 million cases of the virus across the United States.
Here in Montgomery County, as of March 8, 245,892 people have contracted Covid-19, and 2,319 people have died from the virus.
Long-term Covid-19 is still a problem for some patients, and doctors and researchers are trying to figure out ways to help these patients recover.
MyMCM talked with Dr. James Bridgers who is Acting Director of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services. He played a major role along with other County and health leaders when the pandemic first began. My MCM also spoke with Dr. Andy Catanzaro, who is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Adventist Healthcare.
Dr. Bridgers and Dr. Catanzaro said the pandemic has affected them deeply.
Bridgers’ father contracted Covid-19 early on in the pandemic before there were vaccines. He said that was a very hard experience. He said he had friends who died from the virus, and the fact he could not help save a life at that time was very challenging. Bridgers said he suffered another loss recently. His paternal grandmother contracted the virus and later died.
Catanzaro said the pandemic “brought me to my knees physically, mentally, and emotionally. I lost friends, I lost family members, and I lost a lot of patients.”
However he said the pandemic gave him opportunities to grow in ways he could not have imagined. He said he learned a lot about himself both personally as well as professionally.
