Photo: Getty Images
BOSTON (WBZNewsRadio) - Three years ago, on February 1, 2020, Massachusetts detected it's first confirmed case of Covid-19. The student at UMass Boston had recently returned from Wuhan, China. It was the first recorded positive case on the East Coast, and just the eighth in the entire United States.
At the time, the risk of Covid-19 to the public remained low as health officials unknowingly braced for a global pandemic that would, still three years later, remain a concern.
"Massachusetts has been preparing for a possible case of this new coronavirus, and we were fortunate that astute clinicians took appropriate action quickly." Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel said in a statement at the time.
Fast forward to March of 2020, Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10, which was later terminated June 15, 2021. The very next day, on March 11, the CDC declared Covid-19 would now be considered a pandemic.
As cases began to soar, businesses and schools would close their physical doors and move online. And by March 23, 2020, Gov. Baker had issued an order assuring the continued operation of essential services, closing certain workplaces and limiting public gatherings to just 10 people. Still, there were only 646 cases in the Commonwealth, including 5 deaths.
Since then, the world has learned to live alongside Covid-19, with precautions blending into our everyday activities from wearing masks to taking part in virtual events. And whilst, the risk of Covid-19 has lessened as vaccines and boosters are made widely and readily available, the virus continues to impact our daily lives.
This past Friday, the state surpassed the 2,000,000-case mark. Over the last three years Massachusetts has lost nearly 22,000 people to the virus.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App