The district’s Return to Learn plan may resume once regional case numbers drop to lower levels, following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines about opening schools.
Richmond Police Chief Gerald M. Smith
As chief of police of Richmond, it is my wish that 2021 brings recovery success to a struggling economic system, a strained education system and a reimagined public safety system, all of which have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
This year presented many new and unique challenges. People experienced displacement, separation, homelessness, hopelessness, loss, child care issues, unemployment at staggering numbers and other hardships.
Here in the city of Richmond, COVID-19 contributed to an incredible increase in the number of deaths from overdoses and overdoses in general. Violent crime, such as gun violence, domestic violence and homicides, persisted.
How are you?
Nothing has been simple in 2020, neither questions nor answers.
With its first confirmed case in Virginia on March 7, COVID-19 and the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2, tore through communities and separated loved ones. It wreaked uncertainty and unknowns, masks and mandates, loneliness, fear, anger, exhaustion and mourning.
The new coronavirus has affected every person, every day, in almost every way: careers, finances, education, nutrition, housing, faith, business, politics, travel, family and relationships. It’s changed how people connect with the world and each other. It has upended priorities.
Early on, it seemed like preparing for a Richmond snow day. We hustled to the grocery store. We made runs for toilet paper and hand sanitizer. We brought children home from school, temporarily. But that scenario gave way to the realization that a pandemic was bearing down.