In their words: Memphis-area leaders reflect on start of COVID-19 pandemic
From left: Dr. Manoj Jain; Memphis Light, Gas and Water’s Vice President and General Counsel Jennifer Sink; former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland; MLGW's President and CEO Doug McGowen, and MLGW's Vice President of Corporate Communications Ursula Madden work on the City of Memphis’ early response to COVID-19. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
While most Memphians were still oblivious to a virus spreading overseas, those charged with keeping the Bluff City safe were already alarmed in January 2020.
The virus that would come to be called COVID-19 first appeared in mid-December 2019 in Wuhan, China. By the time the infection had burned through the world, an astonishing 777 million cases had been reported globally, according to the World Health Organization, a number that equates to about one out of every 10 people worldwide.
COVID-19 killed more than 7 million people globally, giving it a mortality rate just shy of 1%. The U.S. has recorded more than 103 million cases with more than 1.2 million deaths, according to the WHO. And while those are the official numbers, many experts think cases and deaths were vastly underreported, with the true numbers being exponentially higher.
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Jody Callahan
Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.
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