Monday marks 5 years since COVID pandemic arrived in East Texas

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - Monday marks five years since the first COVID-19 case was announced in East Texas: the day our region became part of a global pandemic.

Five years ago, Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt announced the first case of COVID-19 in East Texas.

“Late yesterday afternoon, Dr. Brown reported a COVID-19 case had been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control,” said Judge Bill Stoudt that day. “Please know the individual in question did not contract the virus within our community and has been in self-isolation for the last two weeks.”

It was a news conference that may seem strange, looking back. It was a packed room in the times before we had ever heard of social distancing or wearing masks.

“And, we know that they have contacts that have been exposed,” a NETHealth official said.

Just a few days later, we would learn of more cases in Smith County and hear for the first time about efforts to flatten the curve.

George Roberts with NETHealth said, “Take this to heart because the reality is if we don’t do this, it could really harm the healthcare system and overwhelm the system, or we’re in this longer than we think.”

About 15 days after that first confirmed case, we would learn of the first death in East Texas.

When KLTV’s Blake Holland asked him, “George, do we know of any COVID related deaths in Smith County?” he replied in the affirmative. “There have been. There’s been one related death. It’s a 91-year-old male who is a Smith County resident.”

As the weeks and months went on, daily life came to a halt. Schools closed, events were canceled and COVID testing ramped up.

Then-Smith County Judge Nathaniel Moran said, “By signing this order, I do recognize that it will cause hardships to many in the community, economic and otherwise, and I am deeply burdened by that.”

We eventually saw orders that closed businesses and kept people at home.

Then-Tyler Mayor Martin Heines said, “Let’s pause for two weeks of our life, and we will be so proud of ourselves after we have that pause.”

But, what we thought would take two weeks would take much longer.

“For those who think it’s a hoax, I invite them to come and see people face down trying to breathe,” another official said.

“In the past few weeks, there has been a swift and substantial spike in COVID-19 cases,” Governor Greg Abbott said.

Over the summer, cases spiked and the governor issued his mask mandate.

Partial re-openings would come in September.

“If the COVID hospitalizations are less than 15% of all hospitalizations for seven consecutive days, then the region is safe enough to allow additional openings,” Abbott said.

Though cases were down, they went back up and stayed that way through the holidays. But, that’s also when vaccines arrived in East Texas.

“[COVID is] not something I recommend getting, so get the vaccine,” a medical professional said.

Tyler and Longview would soon become vaccine hubs, providing shots to thousands of East Texans.

State Rep. Jay Dean said, “We do have a great commitment on a steady supply of this vaccine, and quite frankly, we’re being called now to be a program that other rural areas of Texas can look at and follow.”

Five years later, the reminders of the impact COVID still remain, whether it’s the memory of those we lost or the health lessons learned from dealing with a pandemic, and the resilience of East Texans who fought tough cases but lived to tell their story.

“I wasn’t supposed to get out of the hospital. They gave me a 2 percent chance of getting out of the hospital in 2021,” said one East Texan.

His wife added, “I call him my miracle because he is... when you’re watching someone die, you grieve. You miss them. I have my husband back.”

Monday also marks five years since COVID was declared a global pandemic.