COVID-19: A Year In Siouxland - A Siouxland News Special

In March of 2020, the novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, arrived in the tri-state region. Now one year later, we look back on the impact this virus has had on Siouxland.

A GLOBAL TIMELINE:

On December 31st, 2019, the World Health Organization received the first report of a viral pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Just 9 days later, an outbreak of a novel coronavirus, COVID-19 was confirmed. The first death of this new virus was reported on January 11th and just 20 days after WHO first learned of the virus, it appeared in the U.S. By February 3rd, the U.S. had declared a public health emergency and by March 11th, the WHO had declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.

President Trump declared a national emergency two days later. On April 4th, 1 million cases were confirmed worldwide. Come the end of May, the United States had documented 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 and reached 2 million confirmed cases by June 10th. On August 17th, COVID-19 had become the 3rd leading cause of death in the nation. September 28th brought a grim global milestone: 1 million lives lost. The world reached 40 million confirmed cases by October 19th and by mid-December, the FDA had approved the first two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna.

On January 1st, 2021, the country reached 20 million confirmed cases. By the 10th of January, 90 million confirmed worldwide. Just 5 days later, 2 million people were dead. By March, millions had been vaccinated and a third vaccine option, Johnson & Johnson, was approved for use: one year after COVID-19 was declared a national emergency.

THE NUMBERS:

Here in the tri-state, we've seen more than 652,000 people test positive for COVID-19 in the last year.

Nebraska:

• First Confirmed Case: Friday, March 6, 2020
• First Death: Friday, March 27, 2020

Iowa:

• First Confirmed Case: Sunday, March 8, 2020
• First Death: Tuesday, March 24, 2020

South Dakota:

• First Confirmed Case: Tuesday, March 10, 2020
• First Death: Tuesday, March 10, 2020

NEBRASKA:

Nebraska was one of the first states in the nation to house people in quarantine for COVID-19 following a cruise ship outbreak. More than a dozen people were brought to Nebraska Medicine in Omaha on February 17th to spend two weeks in quarantine after an outbreak on the Diamond Princess. A handful had tested positive and receive treatment at the hospital. It wouldn't be until March 6th that the first confirmed case specifically in Nebraska was reported. Here in Siouxland, Dakota and Madison County saw major outbreaks of COVID-19 after the virus spread through meatpacking plants in Dakota City and Norfolk.

IOWA:

It was a Sunday night, March 15th, when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds made an announcement no other governor of the state has ever made before, closing schools across the state for four weeks. Classes would never resume for in-person learning for the 2019-2020 school year. March 17th, Gov. Reynolds closed gyms, fitness centers, theaters, casinos, bars, restaurants and many other businesses in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus in the state. The state reached a grim milestone on August 19th, with 1,000 Iowans dead from COVID-19.

SOUTH DAKOTA:

South Dakota was one of the first to report a major outbreak of COVID-19, putting the Rushmore state under a national spotlight. The state reported its first cases and first death linked to the virus on March 10th, and just a month later, an outbreak was confirmed at the Smithfield Foods pork plant in Sioux Falls. This outbreak was one of the first to hit meatpackers last spring. The plant shut down on April 11th and the CDC was brought in to investigate its mitigation measures before the plant could reopen. Governor Kristi Noem would host President Donald Trump for a July 4th celebration at Mount Rushmore and then in August, tens of thousands of people flocked to Sturgis for the annual motorcycle rally. Throughout the pandemic, Governor Noem encouraged civic responsibility instead of stay at home and mask orders, urging South Dakotans to use personal responsibility to help slow the spread of the virus. By December 2020, Avera Health, a major health system in the state, reported that South Dakota had the highest mortality rate from COVID-19 in the nation.

COVID-19 vaccine phase updates in the tri-state

RETURN TO LEARN:

Many schools in the Siouxland area released "Return to Learn" plans ahead of the 2020-2021 school year. These included various learning scenarios for students and teachers in case of a virus outbreak in the district or community. Siouxland News spoke to many of these districts ahead of the new school year, which you can find those stories here.

The Sioux City Community School District had three learning plans: in-person, hybrid and online. The district was one of the few large districts in the state of Iowa to remain in-person this school year. Siouxland News Anchor Diana Castillo sat down for an exclusive interview with Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman to look back on the last year, the success of the Return to Learn plan, and what he'd do differently if he had the chance. Watch the full interview below or click here.

SIOUXLAND DISTRICT HEALTH:

They've become a household name over the last year. The team at the Siouxland District Health Department had to quickly adjust to ever-changing protocols from health officials and questions from the public. Our Vivian Rennie sat down with Director Kevin Grieme and Deputy Director Tyler Brock for an in-depth discussion on a year they won't soon forget. Watch the full interview below or click here.

A YEAR FIGHTING COVID-19 INSIDE UNITYPOINT HEALTH-ST. LUKE'S

This virus has changed a lot of lives, but for those who work at Unity Point Health Saint Luke's, they came face to face with an enemy no one could predict.

READ MORE: Vivian Rennie spoke with health officials and nurses at UPH about the last year and COVID-19.

LOCAL BUSINESS IMPACT:

Businesses across the country, Siouxland included, are no stranger to the negative impact of the pandemic. It's been tough and those businesses made a lot of sacrifices in the last year. But, they've also seen growth and development that wouldn't have emerged otherwise.

READ MORE: COVID-19's impact on the local economy
READ MORE: Sneaky's Chicken says they are struggling but surviving the pandemic
READ MORE: A look at how the pandemic has impacted a Siouxland tire and auto repair shop
READ MORE: Tyson Events Center gets creative during the pandemic

SPORTS IMPACT:After the coronavirus canceled spring sports all across the tri-state, Iowa was the first to attempt high school sports over the summer and for the most part, it went off without a hitch. But people were more skeptical about the fall, a time where close contact sports were inevitable. Our Andrew Rogers breaks down the numbers from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to find out how much the virus played a role in sports cancellations. Read his story here and watch the video below.

MEATPACKING OUTBREAKS:

They are a key element in our nation's food supply and became one of the hardest-hit industries early on. COVID-19 outbreaks spread quickly through meatpacking plants nationwide. In the Spring of 2020 meatpacking plants across the midwest became the first hotspots for COVID-19 in the country.

SMITHFIELD - Sioux Falls

• One of the earliest outbreaks was in March at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls where at least 1,300 of the plant's 2,700 employees tested positive and four died by September. The plant shut down in April after reporting its first positive case on March 24th. A team from the CDC visited the plant saying they couldn't find important information on COVID-19 for employees, where more than 40 different languages are spoken. Smithfield was cited by OSHA for failing to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards.

TYSON - Dakota City

• An outbreak reported at the Tyson Foods plant in Dakota City, Nebraska made the Sioux City metro one of the fastest-growing COVID-19 hotspots in the country last spring. The plant suspended operations on May 1st after more than 750 of its 4,300 employees tested positive and at least two died. The plant implemented stronger preventative measures and more testing, reopening a short time later.

TYSON - Storm Lake

• Storm Lake in Buena Vista County, home to two Tyson Foods plants, also saw an outbreak of COVID-19 in the spring. 22% of the workforce had tested positive, shutting down the larger of the two plants on May 29th. Because of the outbreak, Buena Vista County also became one of the fastest-growing hotspots for COVID-19 in the nation in early June. At least one lawsuit has been filed against the company over the death of an employee.

SEABOARD TRIUMPH - Sioux CIty

• Seaboard Triumph Foods in Sioux City kept its operations moving throughout the pandemic, in spite of an outbreak at the facility where at least one employee died from COVID-19. In April, the plant reported at last 120 cases among its 2,400 employees. In the fall of 2020, a judge ruled that the working conditions at the plant were "unsafe and detrimental" after some workers filed a lawsuit.

OTHERS IN THE REGION:

• Other outbreaks were reported at meat-packing plants across the region, including Tyson Foods in Norfolk, Nebraska, Smithfield Foods in Denison, Iowa and Tyson Foods in Waterloo, Iowa and another in Columbus Junction. In Waterloo, several managers were fired after news of a COVID-19 betting pool among them was discovered. Several other lawsuits have been filed against the company after at least six employees died of the virus at the Waterloo facility. According to the website for the journal of the National Academy of Sciences, as many as one in 12 cases of COVID-19 in the spring were tied to outbreaks at meatpacking plants, with nearly 500 facilities reporting outbreaks by September and more than 200 workers dying.

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