It was this time a year ago when the world began changing in ways we could scarcely have imagined. School classes were canceled. So were sporting events and religious services, weddings, proms and trips. People who could work from home did.
On this anniversary of our changed world, The Washington Post reflects on some of the lessons we’ve learned over the past year and on the many ways it reshaped our lives. We speak with artists, nurses, scientists and educators. We tell tales of personal loss and survival. We explore the limitations of human intervention and accountability and ask why we underestimated a virus that shut down the planet. Through a series of broad-reaching stories from every sector of life, “A pandemic year” attempts to piece together an immeasurable year.
This page will update.
How future generations will judge our performance against the virus
Published March 4, 2021
Scientists, health-care workers and some leaders shined in the pandemic — but future generations might remember most how humanity’s best instincts were overshadowed by its worst. Experts warn it is notoriously tricky to decide when and whether to shut borders, impose lockdowns and enforce social distancing. Still, the numbers will tell posterity who got it right — and who didn’t.
In Italy, the coronavirus devastated a generation
Published March 3, 2021
In Italy, a year of data and personal accounts show how the virus concentrated its blow on a single, already-vulnerable age group, causing a historic spike in elderly mortality. Those 80 and older — a group that makes up 7 percent of Italy’s population — have so far accounted for 60 percent of the nation’s covid-19 deaths.
