One year later, we try to recall that feeling of dread: COVID-19 was in our counties. How many people would have it? How much would it spread? How quickly? How much damage would it do?

As of Tuesday, the state’s COVID-tracking website tells the tale: 45 deaths and 2,055 cases in Gloucester County; 12 deaths and 576 cases in Mathews; in Virginia, 10,242 deaths and 671,941 cases.

Each case in these totals represents one person, the heartache, the worry, the lost time, the expense, and sadly, the mourning that this virus can bring.

COVID did not extinguish lives all at once, as in a tsunami or earthquake, but the cumulative loss is just as profound.
...