How the COVID pandemic changed Island life: A look back and lessons learned

This month marks five years since the COVID-19 pandemic entered our lives, changing everything about how we lived. This represents the first in a series of reports on dealing with its initial impact, adjustments made through the years, and where we are today with lessons learned.

In early March, police officers, firefighters and EMTs gathered at Emergency Services Headquarters to discuss what would become the initial organizing effort on the Island to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic threatening communities worldwide.

No one could doubt the seriousness of the situation. Two Islanders died that March from COVID: Kevin Brooks, 74, succumbed to the illness while hospitalized, and Forrest Compton, 94, also died in the hospital.

It was recorded that on March 11, 2020 in just the previous seven days, close to 7,000 New Yorkers died of COVID. And the worst was yet to come, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recording 345,861 deaths in the U.S. by December, and worldwide, more than two million people had perished. All told, as of April 2023, over 1.1 million deaths were reported in the U.S.

According to the World Health Organization, “There have been over seven million recorded fatalities due to COVID-19, from the beginning of the pandemic until the end of 2023, according to official data, but the actual death toll from the disease may be closer to 21 million.”

At that emergency meeting on the Island in March 2020, no one was masked. There was no hint of a vaccine in existence, or how to deal with the numbers of people who would become ill, and those who would lose their lives.

During a break in the program, everyone crammed into a tiny kitchen area to grab sandwiches and soft drinks to sustain them through what would be several hours of discussion. It couldn’t have been known then, but that meeting with no real awareness of what was coming could well have represented a hotbed for how the disease would spread and change lives forever.

Police Chief Jim Read, who doubles as the Island’s Emergency Management Coordinator, went to the podium and offered what in retrospect was a foretelling of what was to come. This is not like a weekend storm to be weathered for a brief period before Town workers and residents begin a cleanup, Chief Read said.

No one in that room could have imagined at that time the profound effect the pandemic would have so quickly on their everyday lives. “Reflecting on the early days of the pandemic, it’s important to highlight the initial uncertainty and urgency that shaped the first year,” Chief Read said in a response to a recent question on the effects COVID-19 would have.

His primary focus was on providing as much information as possible to the community. There were frequent Town Hall meetings to share operational data, much of which emanated from Federal, State, County and local sources, all focused on developing plans to cope with unique needs for the isolated Island.

It wasn’t long before there was “a swift pivot toward social distancing measures, stay-at-home orders and, over time, the deployment of  PPEs” (Personal Protection Equipment — masks, gloves, gowns and other items, all disposable), Chief Read said.

With no immediate vaccine on the horizon, these became an important line of defense to try to curb the rapidly spreading illness.

“The evolution of our planning during that first year was marked by constant adaptation, driven by shifting narratives and an evolving understanding of the virus,” Chief Read said. “We had to stay flexible as the situation changed rapidly,” he said.

THE SCHOOL RESPONDS

Similarly, School Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., had no idea what to expect as he scheduled two all-staff meetings. At the first, he thought preparations being discussed would probably have everyone “overly prepared and that it would likely amount to nothing. Just two days later, we realized that this would be our last in-person meeting and that we would likely be away for an extended period.”

Still, they were repeatedly being told by the State they would likely be out for two weeks. Word kept coming that it would take only two weeks to stop the spread of COVID and return to normal.

As circumstances were changing, Mr. Doelger said he was determined to ensure students could stay in school as long as possible. “Unlike nearly every other district on Long Island, we did not offer a virtual option,” the superintendent said. Many of those districts that did generally took longer to get their virtual classes underway, he said. The school tried to remain open, but there had to be a suspension of in-person learning in March, with the staff tasked to set up virtual learning.

The day after school closed in March 2020, Walter Brigham, who teaches math but doubles as the district’s information technology director, had computers packed up and staged in the school gymnasium.

All the teachers volunteered to come in and retrieve the computers and deliver them to each student. During a time when people were avoiding others, concerned for their own health, this staff stepped up to do what needed to be done out of dedication and caring for the students.

By September, in-person learning resumed.

To achieve that goal, the building’s filtration system and constant cleaning became critical, Mr. Doelger said. “In hindsight, we didn’t fully realize how effective some of the State and Federal recommendations we were given would be,” he said.

It took a dedicated group of educators and staff to make it happen when so many districts continued virtual learning for longer periods of time, he added.

The staff organized a parade, led by police officers and firefighters, as a show of community support and their caring for every student, Mr. Doelger said.“It was a beautiful moment seeing and connecting with kids.” 

Everyone in society was isolating for varied periods of time with so many activities that had to be stopped. In a small community like Shelter Island, where the school is a major center of activities beyond the classroom, it was particularly hard on students to not have the other activities — sports, clubs, proms, parties — that constitute a normal routine.

School Nurse Mary Kanarvogel was on the front lines as an emergency medical technician, but also the point person organizing the return to classrooms and working with a team bringing vaccinations to Islanders once there was finally hope to fight back against the spread of the illness. (There will be more reporting on this effort in a subsequent part of the series.)

Mr. Doelger describes the period once a vaccine was available as “joyous” at the school, as it was throughout the nation.

“People felt liberated; there was music and dancing,” he remembered.

Today, five years later, Mr. Doelger believes students are “nearly fully back to their pre-COVID selves. It took years for children — and really all of us — to return to a normal daily routine,” the superintendent said. “I feel we’re either there or very close,” Mr. Doelger said. “Kids are incredibly resilient, and we have the best ones right here on Shelter Island.”