One year ago on Feb. 20, the news came: Humboldt had its first confirmed case of COVID-19, which at the time had yet to be detected almost anywhere else in the nation.
The individual, who had recently returned from China, recovered after seeking treatment for flu-like symptoms at St. Joseph Hospital. When the test came back positive, Humboldt became the first rural county in the United States to have a confirmed case, according to the New York Times.
For hospital staff, it was a monumental moment.
"That's when it was like, 'OK, this can actually happen here,'" St. Joseph emergency room charge nurse Kristen Beddow told the Journal in December.