‘We will continue to fight this virus with you’

To those of you who have been struggling with the uncertainty of this virus, know that the Health Department  has been struggled with you. We have struggled with how best to protect our community. We have debated policy and procedures. We have followed the best practices laid out by our country’s and the world’s top health professionals. We have listened to the concerns of our community members. We have tirelessly put together constantly evolving plans that best fit our communities’ needs and kept us all as safe as possible. And we will continue to fight this virus with you.

To those of you who have suffered through battling this virus, we have suffered with you. We have been in communication with every COVID case that comes into our system in this county. We have tried to help contain this virus in our community. We have heard how this virus has impacted your lives, how it has hit everyone in a different way. Some of you were only mildly ill, others were extremely ill and worried how you would get through it. We have heard the stories of your valiant flight. We hoped and prayed for you. We cheered when you pulled through and made your recovery.

To those of you grieving the loss of loved ones related to this virus, we are grieving with you. We hoped and prayed with you. We were waiting for the good news that never came. We will not forget you or your loved ones. They were our community members, our neighbors, our friends. They will be missed. They are the reason we keep fighting. A reminder of what we are trying to avoid. We keep going to make sure we do not lose any more of our community members, neighbors and friends.