12 Months Into the Pandemic-What’s Next?

Hard to believe but it was this week one year ago when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Missouri. So what's the next 12 months going to look like?

Missouri’s first positive case was identified on March 7, 2020. As soon as Missouri Governor Mike Parson received the information, he flew to St. Louis to make the announcement. Since that time a year ago, things have changed for all of us across the state, the country, and the world.

Now in March of 2021, hospitalizations have dropped drastically with those numbers falling below 1,000 last week for the first time since September 2020.

So each of us, in a sense, are slowly starting to come out of our cocoons. You have many that have made it their purpose to stay secluded, feeling this was the best defense against the coronavirus.

For other others, like my wife and myself, we've masked up whenever possible but we also decided back last spring that we weren't going to stop living our lives. We could protect ourselves and others by doing what was necessary but we weren't going to live in a bubble during the pandemic.

We contracted the virus in early January, we quarantined for the necessary amount of time, and now we're looking to get our vaccinations in the near future.

The big question with all the vaccinations taking place and with all the falling number of cases, what is 2021 going to look like? Will we go to ball games? Will we attend concerts? For us in Missouri and especially in Sedalia, will there be a state fair this year, and if so, what will it look like?

I like what Governor Parson said in a news release:

“Thanks to our balanced approach and the efforts of millions of Missourians, we have made incredible progress in a short amount of time, and the data shows that we are winning the fight.”