New memorial in Steuben County dedicated to lives lost during the COVID-19 Pandemic
BATH, N.Y. (WENY) -- Earlier today Steuben County honored people in the community who passed away during the Covid-19 Pandemic with a dedication ceremony for a new memorial.
First responders and healthcare workers played pivotal roles in combating the covid-19 pandemic. Steuben County is honoring the brave staff who stepped up in times of crisis, while also making sure that those who are no longer with us are not forgotten.
"To all of us, it was not another data point to report. They were your family, your friends, and our neighbors," remarked Steuben County Public Health Director, Darlene Smith.
The new memorial at the Civil Defense Training Center in Bath features a plaque outlining the challenges that communities faced, and is adorned with flowers on all sides.
"Even though we tragically had over 300 deaths, lives were saved because you folks were helping the community effort in ways that no other county did, so thank you all for that," said Steuben County Manager, Jack Wheeler.
On March 13th, 2020, county leaders sprung into action developing plans for how the county would handle the early days of the pandemic while navigating unknown scenarios, with an even more uncertain future. For public health staff, they faced an entirely new challenge.
"It's very sobering, honestly, in different ways, not only primarily just because of the toll that I know it took on individuals, on families, on businesses, you know, schools, the kids in terms of their loss of learning, loss of socialization. It just was so foreign and new to the mandates and the procedures that we needed to follow was so brand new to all of us," added Smith.
The memorial itself serves multiple purposes, it educates the public on the immense challenges faced during the dark days of the pandemic, but also as a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made by everyday people.
The Civil Defense building was chosen as the memorial's location as it served as a staging point for medical personnel and for the hub of contact tracing and vaccination early on.