Picturing a pandemic: See the last year through the eyes of the Wisconsin State Journal's photographers
From the 'Every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head': The COVID-19 pandemic one year on series
COVID-19 changed nearly everything about our world, even how we see it. Here are some of the State Journal's top images of the pandemic.
At least 28 Madison-area restaurants closed last year while 91% of businesses reported revenue declined. Though the economy has begun to recover, the pandemic's major financial toll continues. Hawk's Bar and Grill, shown here last March, remains open.
Tammi McCarthy and her children, Kenadie, 8, and Kullen, 5, adjust to making educational studies a part of home life as they work on a table especially-assembled for school work in their home in Sun Prairie on March 18, 2020.
India Anderson-Carter, right, learns that she will be a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at UW-Madison through a Virtual Match Day, due to COVID-19, hosted by UW School of Medicine and Public Health, as her family, including her sister, Lexus, at left, react to the news in the basement of her parents' home in Madison on March 20, 2020.
Hanah Jon Taylor plays the saxophone outside his jazz club, Cafe Coda on Williamson Street in Madison on March 21, 2020. The cafe was ordered to close along with bars and restaurants across the state.
In hindsight, the sign on the Orpheum Theater on State Street in Downtown Madison, pictured here on March 23, 2020, was overly optimistic. Closures of theaters, restaurants, bars and other businesses would stretch well beyond March.
With the "Safer at Home" order from the governor, traffic volume fell dramatically in Madison. The view is of West Washington Avenue on March 25,2020.
A window decorated by Amina Diallo, 10, at her home in Deforest offers support to essential workers continuing their duties in the midst of the pandemic. Part of a nationwide effort to show appreciation for those whose careers are required during the global health crisis, each color represents a different line of work. Among the groups included are health care workers, of which her mother, BethAnn Soiliman-Abdalla, a nurse, is included. She is pictured at her home on April 1, 2020.
Dr. Matt Nolan shares an "air hug" with his son Condict, 3, outside the family’s home in Madison on April 2, 2020, as his wife, Dr. Maggie Nolan, holds their son Arthur, 1, with Charlotte, 6, nearby.
Doug Milks clean voting booths after they were used at East High School on April 7, 2020.
Town of Dunn resident Robert Wilson reviews his selections on his ballot while voting at the town's highway garage building on April 7, 2020.
Family members and friends of Donald Harrop celebrate his 103rd birthday through a closed doorway at the Milestone Senior Living Center in Cross Plains on April 24, 2020. Born in 1917, Harrop has now experienced two pandemics, the Spanish Flu of 1918, and the current COVID-19 crisis.
Long-time friends, from left, Mary Power, of Fitchburg, Karen Kilroy, of Stoughton, Jane Morgan, of Oregon, and Pattie Sartori, of Stoughton, at right, practice social distancing as they gather for an overdue visit, which included sharing books and food recipes, at Waterman Triangle Park in downtown Oregon May 6, 2020.
A statue of Abraham Lincoln, a traditional gathering spot for photos of graduates at UW-Madison remains fenced-off to visitors as the university takes precautions against the spread of the COVID-19 virus on May 7, 2020.
UW-Madison graduates, from left, Jacob Tottleben, of St. Louis, Lindsey Fischer, of La Crosse, and Olivia Gonzalez, of Milwaukee, open bottles of champagne at the State and Park Street crosswalk to celebrate after watching their virtual spring commencement ceremony on the rooftop of Fischer's apartment on May 9, 2020.
Jeff Langner, right, works with Patricia Grillot, Madison, on finding the shoes on the first day that Morgan Shoes was open again on May 12, 2020.
Members of the Wisconsin National Guard setting up a new site to collect samples from people in their vehicles at a free community testing site for COVID-19 at the Alliant Energy Center on May 13, 2020.
Lynn DuPree, front, and John Burgar, both of Madison, use slot machines that have protective dividers between them at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison in Madison on June 9, 2020.
Dan Tortorice, center, with his grandchildren, Aria Oettiker, 9, left, and her brother, Anthony, 6, during a visit to Vilas Zoo on June 18, 2020, the first day of the reopening since it closed due to the pandemic.
Members of the UW-Madison marching band wear face coverings and play instruments with bell covers during a limited capacity practice session on the campus on Aug. 27, 2020.
With students seated at a distance from each other, UW-Madison philosophy professor Harry Brighouse leads a discussion in an Ingraham Hall lecture room on Sept. 1, 2020.
A sign in a window at Sellery Hall, one of two residence halls at UW-Madison that were on day one of a 14-day quarantine on Sept., 10, 2020.
Unloading food at Sellery Hall. Witte and Sellery Halls were on day one of a 14-day quarantine on Sept., 10, 2020.
Pastor Karla Renee Garcia holds a service in the parking lot at S.S. Morris Community AME Church on Milwaukee Street in Madison on Sept. 13, 2020.
A largely foreign concept in the U.S. before the pandemic, the custom of wearing a mask to protect others when you're sick might remain.
Election Day voting at Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Nov., 3, 2020.
Staff members confer in the COVID-19 unit at UW Hospital in November.
Kate Dale, left, and her sister, Meg Prestigiacomo, with a picture of their mother, Anne Heine, who died from COVID-19 in July on her 73rd birthday, outside Prestigiacomo's home in Madison on Nov. 19, 2020.
No spectators are allowed in the Kohl Center due to COVID-19 as Wisconsin Badgers take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions in a men's basketball game on Nov. 27, 2020.
Members of the Lodi basketball team spread out on the bleachers when not playing, during a game against New Glarus at Lodi High School in Lodi on Dec. 11, 2020.
Members of the Wisconsin Badgers volleyball team celebrate a point during the second set of a season-opening Big Ten matchup against Purdue at the Wisconsin Fieldhouse on Jan. 22, 2021.
In this Series
'Every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head': The COVID-19 pandemic one year on
Under the order, utilities will have to account not only for the avoided cost to produce electricity but also the cost to deliver it to customers and to maintain enough capacity to meet peak demand, which could lead to more favorable terms for independent power producers.
"We’re used to taking whatever comes through the door," said nurse Maria Hanson, who started journaling about the pandemic soon after treating the patient.
“Truly every aspect of our lives has been turned on its head,” said Malia Jones, a UW-Madison infectious disease epidemiologist.
“Usually a funeral is a major step in understanding that a life was lived and the person is now gone,” he said. “If families don’t get that, it’s just really hard.”
Rev. Marcus Allen knew what bringing everyone together could do for their spiritual and mental health. But each time he considered reopening the church, COVID-19 cases surged.
“Reporting the death counts out day after day was draining,” she said. “It felt like I was announcing a funeral every day.”
"I was getting my work done from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. every day," she said.
A year into a once-in-a-century pandemic, Madison and Wisconsin continue to grapple with a virus that's killed thousands, destroyed businesses…
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine endorses staying with standard time, which is used in the winter, citing "significant public health and safety risks," from sleep deprivation to higher blood pressure, to an assortment of things you probably couldn't pronounce.
She is survived by two sons, Gaylord A. Jr., of Dane, and Jeffrey, of Kensington, a daughter, Tia, of Madison, and four grandchildren.
"This was an own-goal, we're unhappy about it, and we owe an apology to Representative Pocan," Amazon said about its response to a comment Pocan made last week about workers needing to "urinate in water bottles."
Sixty-one of Wisconsin's 72 counties are under "very high" risk as dry vegetation and low humidity create conditions for wildfires to start and spread, the DNR warned Saturday.
For more than two decades, the Droids Attack front man has refurbished games at his business Aftershock Retrogames. Now, he's looking to open an arcade bar.
Painters scrambled Friday to fix a giant typo on a central Wisconsin village's water tower.
A Republican state lawmaker plans to try to block the University of Wisconsin from instituting COVID-19 testing, masking and vaccination protocols on campuses across the state.
DNR's policy board says the population is still well above the state's goal of 350 animals.
The positive COVID-19 test and hospital care for Republican state Sen. André Jacque came after he testified on Wednesday in a packed Capitol hearing room without wearing a mask.
The wife of a Wisconsin lawmaker who has been an outspoken critic of vaccine and mask mandates and who remains hospitalized with COVID-19-induced pneumonia is urging people to get vaccinated.
The seven-day average of COVID-19 deaths in Wisconsin fell below double digits Wednesday for the first time in almost two months, but the drop in cases has been slow, medical professionals say.
About 95% of employees are already fully vaccinated. UW-Madison estimates 1,800 employees have not yet provided proof of vaccination.
The majority of institutions didn’t require the vaccine. With the exception of a handful of schools, including UW-Madison, a survey found that those without a requirement reported a lower vaccination rate.
"I never would have thought I would have gotten it," one winner said. "I’m not the person to win anything ... I was just in shock. I didn’t know what to say."
