It’s been four years since the height of the pandemic, but COVID is a sickness that still affects many lives.

My own life has been impacted in the past week. That’s because of the COVID cases at a Marshall assisted living, facility, the home of my 86-year-old mother.

I’ve been getting many good updates by email. The last of them said there were six cases out of 16 residents on my mother’s south unit. There was only one case on the north side.

So far mom is not one of the cases. Hopefully she’ll continue to steer clear of it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

COVID has flown low on the radar screen for about two years. It rarely makes headlines. Since it’s not nearly as likely to be fatal, it’s become a lower priority.

It’s a far cry from four years ago, when almost entire half hour news broadcasts were devoted to COVID. It was by far the most extensive news item.

It’s important to remember that COVID is still a major health issue. It’s contagious like it was four years ago. There’s still a possibility of death, especially for the elderly and people with other health concerns.

The frustrating thing about COVID is that it was preventable. China should not have conducted dangerous virology studies.

There should have been sanctions for China’s secrecy and lack of cooperation. It would have been good to have pressure from around the world to close down the virology facility.

It doesn’t do much good at this point, however, to dwell on how it all started. The important thing is where the world will go from here.

COVID showed how there’s a need for more international cooperation to solve problems. In many respects, leaders haven’t been adhering to the principles that led to the United Nations after World War II.

Along with public health, there could be more cooperation on issues such as environmental protection, the world food supply, education and family planning.

Hopefully COVID will turn out like polio in the 20th century. Polio has almost been eradicated globally. It’s thanks to the efforts of worldwide groups such as Rotary International. Meanwhile we should be mindful that COVID still exists, that it’s a potential threat even though we have vaccines.

It might still be a good idea to limit the number of events we attend that involve large crowds. When we do attend such an event, it’s important to wait several days before visiting elderly relatives to make sure there are no symptoms of illness.

Fortunately no one at the assisted living facility has had a life-threatening condition. I’m looking forward to visiting mom again when the situation runs its course. I plan to schedule a window visit within the next several days.

The COVID response four years ago was a challenge at first. In the end it turned into a success story. Scientists successfully brought it under control

We have to realize that in the 21st century the world is global. Back in the 19th century, an epidemic in China probably would not have spread to other countries.

Now it’s very likely that something like COVID will reach all parts of the world. We have to work together to make sure that nothing like COVID ever happens again.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter in southwest Minnesota