COVID 5 years later: health office retires, families reflect
COVID Pandemic 5 years later: families remember victims, officials reflect on lessons learned
More than 1.2 million Americans have died from COVID since the pandemic was first declared March 11, 2020. That includes some 101,000 Californians who died from SARS-CoV-2. Bay Area families who lost loved ones share memories, and health officials talk about what lessons were learned and questions still to be answered.
SAN JOSE - Half a decade since coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 plunged the world into a pandemic, the scars are still healing for those who lost their loved ones.
"Right now, I need my mom. I need my mom and now she's not here," said Gina Martinez.
Her mother, Arcelia Martinez, 65, was a worker at a Food Maxx store and one of the first victims of COVID in the Bay Area, passing away March 21, 2020. She was survived by four children and six grandchildren. She held her baby grandson on March 11, 2020, then later, got sick with COVID and died.
"That's one of the biggest impacts of COVID taking your loved ones away, is holidays. The holidays are the biggest thing. It's just so sad during the holidays," Martinez said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 1.2 million Americans died from COVID-19. More than 101,000 were Californians.
Families mark time by remembering those they have lost.
Stacy Yasukochi Nolan's mother, Hatsuye "Hatsy" Yasukochi, 80, was the co-owner of Yasukochi's Sweet Stop bakery in San Francisco's Japantown, with her husband, Hisao "Moses" Yasukochi.
Her family, like so many in the early days of the pandemic, had to delay memorial services due to restrictions on social gatherings.
"Mom just exemplified a lot of strength and courage," Nolan said. "And that's something I'll always remember and try to instill in myself and others."
For many, the memories bring back the pain, the stress, and uncertainty of those early days during the pandemic.
A lack of tests made it difficult to determine the degree of SARS-CoV-2 infections across the community.
In the Bay Area, the first confirmed cases of COVID in January led to mandates about masking and social distancing, questions about viral transmissions, stay-at-home orders, lockdowns, shutdowns, and limits on group gatherings.
Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody issued the nation's first stay-at-home order after seeing confirmed COVID cases as early as January.
Five years later, Cody announced Tuesday that she plans to retire on April 11.
She said it did not have anything to do with the threats and protests she faced during the pandemic, adding that she received great support from county officials as she applied her scientific judgment to COVID rules for the county.
"Of all the Bay Area counties, Santa Clara saw early activity. The sparks landed here first and then spread, so it was up to us to make early decisions and take early actions," Cody said. "You make decisions as they come, with the eye towards protecting people, protecting their health and communicating what you know, when you know it. I think we would do that again."
There are still questions left to be answered and reflections on some lessons learned.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, UCSF Professor of Infectious Diseases, said the process of developing the COVID-19 vaccines brought new science and technology to the public eye.
Five years after COVID pandemic's start, victims' families reflect, health officer retires
Tuesday marked five years since the World Health Organization declared a world pandemic as the SARS-CoV-2 transmission continued.
COVID Pandemic 5 years later: families remember victims, officials reflect on lessons learned
More than 1.2 million Americans have died from COVID since the pandemic was first declared March 11, 2020. That includes some 101,000 Californians who died from SARS-CoV-2. Bay Area families who lost loved ones share memories, and health officials talk about what lessons were learned and questions still to be answered.
"I couldn't believe that you could get the genome sequence for a new virus in a matter of days. Develop a vaccine and do a trial, all within a year. I think that really gives us hope for the future," Chin-Hong said.
"What we also learned is that developing the science is only part of the formula. You have to implement the science. You have to have people trust the science. And I think that's where we still have questions," Chin-Hong said, adding that the coordination between health departments and in the Bay Area California was one positive note.
The World Health Organization's Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there is still much work to be done to prepare the world for any future disasters.
"For over three years, WHO Member States have been discussing a new pandemic agreement to establish principles, priorities and targets for how countries will cooperate when the next pandemic strike," Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
"These negotiations are scheduled to resume on 7 April, before the World Health Assembly meets in May, when we hope an agreement will be reached. If countries succeed in this historic undertaking, it could prevent the chaos, inconsistent collaboration and unhelpful competition for resources, vaccines and other tools witnessed during COVID-19," Ghebreyesus said.