It was a somber scene March 16, 2020, at the Beaver County Courthouse.
Earlier in the day, county officials had received word that the first case of COVID-19 had been detected in Beaver County. That weekend, Allegheny County officials had begun ordering business closures and restricting gatherings, but county officials were initially having none of that.
The tone changed after word came that an Aliquippa School District employee had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The board of commissioners, along with the head of Beaver County Emergency Services Eric Brewer, addressed the county, declared a state of emergency in the county and begged residents to take the pandemic seriously.