The past year inflicted devastating pain across the Ohio Valley as more than 25,000 people in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia died due to COVID-19 and more than 1.5 million people contracted the virus.
Low-income families, women and people of color bore an unequal brunt of the economic challenges caused by the shutdowns, more so than wealthy and white. The pandemic laid bare the already embedded economic inequality and unequal access to health care in society.
The ReSource continues to cover the impact of the pandemic on the Ohio Valley and our journalists talk to people from all walks of life. In the animation below, you can see how COVID-19 spread across Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia, and how deaths mounted over time in counties around the region.
West Virginia reported its first COVID-19 cases on March 17, 2020. As of March 15, the case count was 136,019.
Kentucky reported its first COVID-19 cases on March 6, 2020. As of March 15, the case count was 416,610.
Ohio reported its first COVID-19 cases on March 9, 2020. As of March 15, the case count was 990,340.