Nevada recently surpassed 10,500 COVID-19 deaths. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck talked with Darlene Dougherty who lost her husband Dave Randolph to the virus just before Christmas, 2020. He was 84 years old.

Few business sectors have been hit as hard by the pandemic as restaurants. In fact, the industry is down $65 billion from 2019’s pre-pandemic levels. Shila Morris, the co-owner of the Squeeze In eateries in Nevada and California, had to close some locations for good, but her family business has fought to keep most of them afloat.

Throughout the pandemic, some public health leaders have exited the field due to incredibly high demands, while others left due to threats or harassment regarding their work. But there were some, like Gayle Erickson, who turned to the profession instead.

Coming off the surge of the omicron variant, Nevada is now stepping into the third year of the pandemic. KUNR’s Gustavo Sagrero spoke with Diana Lara from the Nevada Resilience Project on the work done to help communities wade their way through this pandemic.

Before COVID-19 hit, Washoe County’s foster care system had a shortage of homes for children in need. The pandemic has made the problem worse. KUNR’s Kaleb Roedel spoke with Laura Caprioli with the Washoe County Human Service Agency to learn how the child welfare system is working to overcome challenges presented over the last two years.

The Nevada National Guard’s nearly two-year pandemic response mission will go down in history as their longest activation since World War II. They’re expecting to end relief efforts by April 1, 2022.

Nevada ranks second to last in public health spending per person. KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck spoke to Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick about how that low investment has made it difficult to respond to the pandemic and how the region is faring after the recent omicron surge.