March 9 Declared COVID-19 Remembrance Day

COLUMBUS, OH — March 9 has been declared a day of remembrance in Ohio in honor of the 17,500 residents who have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

"At this one-year mark, it is important to remember and mourn those we have lost to this deadly virus, those who have become sick, and all of their families," said a proclamation signed by Gov. Mike DeWine.

March 9, 2020 was when the first confirmed COVID-19 case was discovered in Ohio. Since then, 979,000 Ohioans have tested positive for the virus. The U.K. and Brazilian variants of COVID-19 are now spreading in the Buckeye State.

The first COVID-19 death in Ohio was confirmed on March 20, 2020. Mark Wagoner, an attorney from Lucas County, was killed by the virus. His family immediately identified him in an effort to warn Ohioans of the seriousness of COVID-19.

A year-long struggle ensued. Lockdowns, curfews, stay-at-home orders, threats, protests and masks, masks, and more masks followed. The first glimmer of hope came on Dec. 14, 2020, when the first COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Ohio.

Since Dec. 14, 1.4 million Ohioans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, nearly 20 percent of the state's population.

As vaccine eligibility expands and vaccine production ramps up, Ohio officials felt March 9 was a day to remember the tragic journey Ohioans took to arrive in 2021.