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.
Posted By Kimberly Wear@kimberly wear on Sat, Feb 20, 2021 at 11:41 AM One year ago today, 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. Exactly a month would pass before a second case, also connected to travel, was recorded. Soon, the first cases of community spread were identified. In late March of 2020, Humboldt County was placed under a local shelter-in-place order that shuttered all but essential businesses, sent students home to continue their educations under now familiar distance learning and brought life as most people knew it to an abrupt halt.
Cumulative COVID-19 cases, recoveries and deaths in Humboldt
As the Journal s editorial staff gathered (virtually) for the annual ritual of deciding the year s top 10 stories the most impactful and memorable things that happened on the North Coast it was inescapable: The stench of COVID-19 was everywhere. From shuttered schools, closed businesses and laid-off workers to local government s frantic planning efforts, death and illness COVID-19 was the top 10 stories in Humboldt County. Every. Single. One.
But that was a depressing realization we couldn t entirely square with. After all, there were other monumental stories in 2020 that will forever change Humboldt from huge forest fires and an institution in crisis to the fight for racial justice and the decades-long effort to restore a river s health. Omitting those, we felt, was letting the pandemic win. So we opted to give COVID-19 the space and prominence it deserves, while offering readers five additional stories that any