Tulsa marked one year since COVID-19 made its first appearance in the community on Monday.
On March 1, 2020, Tulsa’s first COVID patient checked in to a St. Francis urgent care clinic. Oklahoma’s first confirmed case was reported five days later: a Tulsa County man who had recently traveled to Italy.
Area churches were encouraged to ring their bells Monday at noon during a moment of silence to honor those affected by the pandemic. It’s a good time "to pause to reflect upon the year that has passed since Oklahoma’s first COVID-19 patient was diagnosed," St. Francis officials said in a statement. "Let our silence serve as a tribute to those we have lost and as a testament to our collective perseverance."
In the past year, COVID-19 has killed thousands of Oklahomans and more than half a million Americans. Though hospitalizations have steadily declined, health care workers have dealt with a once-in-a-lifetime strain over the course of the pandemic. New cases are declining in Oklahoma and vaccinations are being giving at a good rate, but health experts urge people to continue taking precautions like wearing masks and practicing physical distancing as more-infectious variants become responsible for more and more cases.
