We thought the pandemic might end in 2021. It (of course) hasn’t | Top stories of 2021, No. 5 | Local News

Especially in Racine County, where most areas were listed under a “high risk” of transmission category by the Centers for the Disease Control back in March — and Racine County Public Health’s jurisdiction still remains as such, according to crchd.com/covid-19.

Here’s a recap of how the ongoing pandemic has affected the county throughout the year.

The first few months saw the initial vaccine rollout to the most at-risk groups, including hundreds of Racine Unified School District teachers and staff members and officers of the Racine Police Department.

RUSD employees called it the “responsible thing to do” as buildings made the transition into in-person learning after almost (or over, depending on which school) a year of virtual schooling.

It became commonplace to take selfies or pictures of a bandaged arm after getting the vaccination.

Hospitals and pharmacies of all sizes were distributing the vaccination and met with high demand. Hometown Pharmacy, 3900 Erie St., became one of the best spots for the elderly to book a vaccination appointment because they could do it just by walking in or making a call while others required access to technology.

Jeremy Laffin, the owner pharmacist at Hometown, was at one point administering 100 vaccines a day on his own. He would even schedule at-home visits for vaccinations, proving that small pharmacies were tiny but mighty at the beginning of the rollout.

On April 29, the City of Racine began allowing businesses to operate at 100% again, more than 13 months after restrictions first went in place.

Summer began with some great news: the mask mandate for the City of Racine ended on June 1.

Racine Mayor Cory Mason warned, however, that the lift didn’t mean “the pandemic is over.” Health officials still encouraged wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands.

The delta variant of COVID-19 was also, and still remains, a concern.

But business owners were up in the air about how to handle their practices. Without the mask mandate, if a business owner wasn’t comfortable with allowing unmasked customers in, what would they do?

Michael Scamarcia, owner of Douglas Avenue Diner in Caledonia, said he expected a large wave of COVID-19 to hit after the mask mandate was lifted. Although it cannot be shown definitively one way or the other how much more masking up could have made a difference, that wave has come and is still coming.

At this point in the year, there were talks of whether vaccines would be mandated, and if proof of vaccination would be required when entering any building. Scamarcia said he and other business owners needed more guidance, not wanting to police whether people had their vaccine cards.

“It would create a massive backlash … I don’t want to police that,” he said in August. “If I have to start asking, it affects our business.”

On the upside, high school seniors were able to have a proper send-off. They danced the night away at Rotary Post Prom at the Racine County Fairgrounds and held in-person ceremonies with families in tow.

Right before fall, masks were mandated again in the City of Racine. RUSD students also had their first day of the school year in person, with mask policies still up in the air.

The Halloween holiday saw lots of trunk-or-treat options, but kids were mostly able to go back to their regular door-to-door routine for trick-or-treating.

As reported earlier this month, the omicron variant was shown to have made its way into Wisconsin after wedding guests from California tested COVID-19 positive with the variant. A few days later, state hospitals reported that they had no capacity for any upcoming wave of cases.

COVID-19 testing will continue into the new year at Festival Hall, administered by the National Guard.

“As we head into the holiday, similar to last year, we are already seeing a surge in cases of COVID-19. It is critically important that before people gather with friends and family this holiday season that they both get vaccinated and get tested,” stated Dottie-Kay Bowersox, public health administrator for the city.