COVID 2-Year Anniversary: How Illinoisans Coped With The Pandemic

ILLINOIS — It's a milestone nobody wanted to celebrate: On Friday, the United States hit the two-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, Illinois has reported more than 3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 33,075 deaths.

In Illinois, the two years of COVID-19 have come with shutdowns, school closings, a stay-at-home order and mask mandates. Residents and businesses faced financial hardship, and Illinois students, teachers and staff dealt with uncertainty as they worked to balance safety with a sense of normalcy.

On Feb. 28, Illinois dropped its statewide mask mandate for both the public and schools. The City of Chicago also dropped its mask and proof-of-vaccine mandates as the state begins to get back to the way things were pre-pandemic.

Already, St. Patrick's Day and spring events are resuming, some for the first time since 2019, including Chicago's St. Patrick's Day Parade and the South Side Irish Parade.

The first case of the coronavirus in Illinois — the second case in the nation — was confirmed on Jan. 24, 2020. Since then, Illinois hospitals have faced strained capacity as the virus complicated school, sports and our way of life.

Patch created a survey to ask readers how they have coped since the start of the pandemic and what they have mourned and celebrated. The survey was not meant to be a scientific poll, with random sampling and margins of error, but is meant only to gauge the sentiments of our readers in an informal way.

In the survey, Patch asked readers in Illinois to reflect on the government response to the pandemic.

The survey found that 34.4 percent of readers characterized their local response to the pandemic as mostly positive, and 11.9 percent said it was very positive. A total of 26 percent of respondents said the local response was mostly negative or very negative.

There seemed to be an even split when it came to Illinois readers' view of the state-level response. About 30 percent each characterized the response as either "Mostly positive" or "very negative." Another 21.5 percent called it "very positive," meaning about half of those who responded saw the Illinois response to COVID-19 in a positive light. Another 11.2 percent called the state's response "mostly negative." And 9 percent saw it as neither positive nor negative.

Meanwhile, when it came to the federal response to COVID-19, about 27.9 percent of Illinois Patch readers who responded found it "mostly positive," with another 7.1 percent calling it "very positive." On the flip side, 24.2 percent called it "very negative" with another 22.9 percent saying it was "mostly negative." About 18 percent said the federal government's response was neither positive nor negative.

"I think it was more lax in my local area than at the state level, which I was disappointed to see," one reader said, while others felt both state and local governments should have taken a more hands-off approach. "Illinois policies have been horribly limiting to personal liberties," one reader wrote.

Other responses from Illinois Patch readers, by the numbers:

• Around 30 percent of those who responded said they had contracted COVID-19 in the past 2 years, compared with 70 percent who said they did not.
• More than half, or around 51 percent, of those who did contract the virus categorized their case as minor, while 41 percent said their case was moderate and 7.5 percent said their case was severe.
• Just 5.4 percent of those who responded said they were hospitalized with COVID-19
• Nearly 30 percent said they lost a family member or friend to COVID-19 over the past two years.
• More than half of those who lost someone to COVID-19, or around 52 percent, said they were unable to hold or attend a funeral due to the virus.
• 70 percent of those who responded said they always complied with mask mandates in their area, compared with 14 percent who usually complied, 6.3 percent who seldom complied, 5.3 percent who said they complied about half the time and 3.6 percent who said they never did.
• Now that mask mandates are lifted, about 46 percent of Illinois Patch readers who replied said they still wear a mask in public, compared with 53.8 percent who said they don't.
• More than 83 percent of Illinois Patch readers who responded said they had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
• Of those who responded that they have children, nearly 62 percent said they have had their kids vaccinated or plan to do so, while 38.1 percent said they haven't or won't.
• Most readers who responded, nearly 60 percent, said they worked continuously at one job throughout the pandemic.
• 43.5 percent who did not work at one job said they were laid off due to the pandemic, while 32.2 percent said they quit their job for reasons unrelated to the pandemic. Another 12.2 percent said they quit over fears of COVID-19, 8.7 said they were let go or laid off for reasons unrelated to the pandemic, and 3.5 percent said they quit their jobs due to a vaccine mandate.
• 96.2 percent of readers who responded said their employer kept paying them through the pandemic.
• 37.3 percent said their job never went remote during the pandemic; 34.5 percent said their workplace went remote but workers have returned or will return to the workplace; 17.9 percent said they are still working remotely, and 10.4 percent said they have always worked remotely.
• More than half, or around 62.2 percent, of those who responded, said their financial situation has not changed since the start of the pandemic. But 23.3 percent said their financial situation is worse, and 14.6 percent said their financial situation is better.

Experiences battling COVID-19

While most people who responded said they and their loved ones did not suffer severe health effects after contracting COVID-19, some did.

"I got very sick with COVID in late December/early January and am currently dealing with long haul symptoms that have altered my lifestyle," one Illinois Patch reader wrote. Another said they have a relative who is facing severe health consequences after battling COVID-19.

Others wrote about being unable to be with loved ones who were very ill due to visitor restrictions at hospitals.

"I couldn't be with my mom when she died," one reader wrote.

Another shared their family's COVID-19 heartbreak.

"My 30-year-old son died of COVID alone in California in March 2020. We were not allowed to fly out to bury him, nor would they send his body here. Instead, we were sent a picture of his dead body and he was cremated."

Another reader wrote, "I lost my brother. We had to wait a month to have a wake, and then only 10 people were allowed."

Reasons for not vaccinating

Some Illinois Patch readers shared their reasons for not vaccinating. Most said they had fears about the long-term effects of the vaccine or believed it was rushed.

"I don't really trust the quick fix vaccine they pushed out on us," one reader wrote.

Another reader said they suffer autoimmune issues and were advised against getting the vaccine by their doctor.

Impact on schools, kids

Some Illinois readers talked about the impact the pandemic had on local schools.

"I didn't lose anyone close to me but I knew others who did, of course," one reader wrote. "The main way I was impacted was as a teacher of English Learners who had to stay home after schools closed and then we, teachers, had to learn to teach 100 percent remotely. The learning curve was steep, and the isolation was deep and heavy. I'm not sure how I endured 18 months of sheer exhaustion."

More than 60 percent of those whose children did remote learning said they supervised their child's online work, while another 27 percent said they and their spouse shared the responsibility. Another nearly 10 percent said their spouse did all or most of the supervision when it came to online learning, and 2.4 percent said another adult in the home oversaw remote learning.

More than half of those who responded —56.9 percent — said they believe their children's educational progress suffered during the pandemic, while 27.7 said they noticed little change and 15.3 percent said their child thrived, gaining ground educationally.

Parents shared their thoughts on remote learning during the pandemic, with one calling it a "complete waste," saying, "Kids don't pay attention to learning on a computer." Another parent said remote learning was awful for their special education student.

Another said one of their children slipped academically for a while, but then regained the ground they'd lost and even excelled.

One parent was angry about school mask mandates, vowing, "If Illinois reinstitutes masking we will move out of state."

Other parents who responded talked about remote learning's social and emotional impact, as well as about the impact on working parents.

"As a working mother, this put tremendous strain on my ability to work and led to constant late nights catching up," one mom wrote. "Those who could afford it hired expensive private tutors. I know several mothers in dual-working households that took a leave of absence from work to deal with e-learning."

Anxiety, depression increases

Some Patch readers who responded reported rising anxiety levels and depression during the pandemic, as well as sadness over the loss of loved ones.

"I’m really sad to learn how selfish my fellow Americans can be," one reader wrote.

Another reflected on the isolation they felt during the pandemic.

"I felt a lot more depressed than usual. I missed having new experiences and meeting friends. I also missed having a steady job and worried a lot about finances, I still do," one said.

In late January, Patch surveyed readers on how they were feeling and the impact COVID-19 has had on their mental health.

Most of those who responded reported feeling anxiety or depression regularly.

A recent federal survey found that the percentage of Americans suffering from anxiety and depression has spiked exponentially, from about 11 percent in 2019 to about 32 percent in recent months.

Others reported rifts in their family or friendships over vaccination status and feelings about how the government handled the pandemic.

"Lost friends over my vaccination status," one reader wrote. "Never in my life has anyone cared about my medical choices until now."

New lease on life

Some Illinois Patch readers talked about how the pandemic has affected their view of the world — sometimes for the better.

"The pandemic has taught me to look more closely at the world around us," one reader wrote. "Enjoy the beauty of nature, the fun being with family playing games, learning new cooking skills, reading more books and most of all connecting with friends through letters."

Another said the pandemic taught them something else.

"It's just so important for people to realize this never should have been about politics," they said. "So many people lost loved ones, such a tragedy. We must figure out how to keep each other safe."

Other Illinois Patch readers reported other life changes, such as becoming more politically active or getting healthy and losing weight due to COVID-19 fears. Some even reported that the pandemic prompted them to retire early or start a new career.

"The last 2 years actually made me realize I have a passion and talent in interior design and I’m going to create a side hustle doing it as a business," one reader wrote. "Being inside a lot really makes you reevaluate your surroundings."

Mark Hand, Patch Staff, contributed to this article