'It's OK To Let Go Now': Virus Claims Couple Just Minutes Apart

ACROSS AMERICA — Just before Christmas, Dick and Shirley Meek reached a milestone very few couples ever do.

After five children, 13 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren, the couple from Coshocton, Ohio, celebrated 70 years of marriage on Dec. 22.

Just a few weeks later, the couple tested positive for the coronavirus.

And last weekend, only days before they were scheduled to receive their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Dick and Shirley Meek wrote the final sentence of their decades-long love story. They died in each other's arms, just minutes apart, their family told news station WBNS in Columbus, Ohio.

Dick would have been 90 on Jan. 19. Shirley was 87 years old.

“Mom passed first,” daughter Debbie Howell told WBNS. “They were holding hands. The nurse put mom’s head on my dad’s shoulder, and she said to Dad, ‘Dick, it’s OK to let go now. Shirley’s waiting for you,’ and he passed within minutes.”

According to their family, the couple led an adventurous life and experienced many things together, from skydiving to zip lining to traveling the world. Every day, they had a standing date at 3 p.m.

Despite the loss, Debbie called the ending of her parents' story a "blessing."

"My parents got the blessing of walking together through the gates of heaven into eternity with never having to face 'until death do us part,'" Debbie told WBNS. "How many people can say that?"

The Latest

On Day Two of his presidency, Joe Biden on Friday signed two more executive orders aimed at curbing the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus crisis and feeding those suffering from pandemic-induced hunger.

One of the orders calls for a 15 percent increase in benefits received by low-income students through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program. It also calls for expanded eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps.

"The American people can't afford to wait," Brian Deese, the National Economic Council director, said during a Friday news conference. "And so many are hanging by a thread. They need help, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide that help as quickly as possible."

In Friday's actions, Biden also called for the Office of Personnel Management to develop recommendations to pay more federal employees at least $15 per hour.

Biden is moving with lightning speed to address the pandemic that has infected nearly 24.7 million Americans and claimed more than 412,000 lives in the United States.

Biden on Thursday signed 10 executive orders directly aimed at jump-starting his national COVID-19 strategy, according to an Associated Press report. The orders call for an increase in vaccinations and testing, and they outline a path to reopen U.S. schools and businesses.

One order immediately calls for an increase in the use of masks, including a requirement that Americans mask up for travel. Another directive calls for addressing health care inequities in minority communities hard hit by the virus.

Among Biden's first orders of business was to sign an order requiring masks for people on all federal grounds. He also directed agencies to extend a moratorium on evictions and a freeze on federal student loan payments, according to other reports.

• In New Round Of Executive Orders, Biden Requires Masks For Travel

Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is back.

In truth, the nation's leading infectious-diseases expert never really went away. But after enduring nearly a year of darts and undermining comments from now-former President Donald Trump, Fauci now speaks with the authority of the White House again.

During a news conference Thursday, he called it "liberating" to be backed by a science-friendly administration that has embraced his recommendations to battle COVID-19.

"One of the new things in this administration is, if you don't know the answer, don't guess," Fauci said in one pointed observation during a White House briefing. "Just say you don't know the answer."

While choosing his words carefully, Fauci acknowledged that it had been difficult at times to work for Trump, who repeatedly played down the severity of the pandemic, refused to consistently promote mask-wearing and often touted unproven scientific remedies, including a malaria drug and even injecting disinfectant.

"The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know and what the science is ... it is something of a liberating feeling," Fauci told reporters.

• Fauci Unleashed: Doc Takes 'Liberating' Turn At Center Stage

Also in Washington, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday quietly changed its immunization guidelines, specifically targeting the second dose of the long-awaited coronavirus vaccine.

According to a New York Times report, the CDC altered guidance to allow those receiving the shot to switch from one vaccine to another in "exceptional situations." This means if someone received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, in some cases, they may be able to receive a second dose produced by another pharmaceutical company.

CDC guidance was also changed to extend the interval between doses to six weeks, even though such changes have not been studied in clinical trials.

CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told the Times that the agency’s “intention is not to suggest people do anything different, but provide clinicians with flexibility for exceptional circumstances.”

Meanwhile, National Football League officials announced on Friday that 7,500 health care workers vaccinated for the coronavirus will get free tickets to next month's Super Bowl, scheduled to take place in Tampa, Florida.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release that attendance at the Feb. 7 game would be limited to those workers and about 14,500 other fans. Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has a capacity of just under 66,000, according to its website.

"These dedicated health care workers continue to put their own lives at risk to serve others, and we owe them our ongoing gratitude," Goodell said in the release. "We hope in a small way that this initiative will inspire our country and recognize these true American heroes."

While most workers who receive tickets will come from Tampa Bay and central Florida, Goodell said all 32 NFL teams will choose workers from their cities to attend the game.

In Ohio, a pharmacy services company tasked with vaccinating residents at several Ohio nursing homes allowed nearly 900 doses of the Moderna vaccine to spoil by not storing them at cold-enough temperatures.

According to a New York Times report, SpecialtyRx was given 1,500 doses to vaccinate residents at eight facilities. After administering the first round of shots, the company discovered it had not properly monitored or recorded the temperatures in refrigerators and freezers where the remaining doses were stored.

The Ohio Department of Health told The Times that the nursing home residents are still awaiting their second shots, and care centers will be required to obtain them through another provider.

Newest Numbers

At least 3,898 deaths and 187,033 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States on Thursday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily cases fell 20.2 percent, new daily deaths fell 7.5 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations fell 6.5 percent.

Currently, more than 119,927 people are hospitalized with a coronavirus-related illness in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

As of Friday, 40 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

As of Friday afternoon, the United States had reported more than 24.7 million cases and more than 412,700 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or The Washington Post.

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