KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Friday, March 12, marks one year since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Knox County.
Knox County's first reported COVID-19 case came just one day after the World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic.
Spanish Version: Un año atrás: El Condado de Knox reportó su primer caso de COVD-19
Since that day, more than 47,000 people in Knox County have tested positive for the virus, 1,200 have required hospital care and we've lost 593 of our Knox County neighbors, according to our last check.
Healthcare workers on the frontlines everywhere have experienced what is known as "compassion fatigue" from seeing those deaths first-hand.
However, despite everything, they believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Currently, more than 34,600 people are on the vaccine waitlist in Knox County.
The Knox County Health Department and UT Medical Center agree things started to look up when those shots arrived almost three months ago.