JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friday marks two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
More than 6 million people have died of COVID-19 across the globe.
While cases are dropping now, COVID-19 is still taking its toll in Jacksonville and across the world.
For many, it’s hard to believe that two years have passed since the official start of the pandemic. Life has changed -- like how and where we work, how we go about entertainment, where we go out and eat, and how we get tested.
Testing for COVID-19 has undergone many changes -- from long lines and hourslong waits to today when most of us take a test at home.
Mia Jones of Agape Health says that in the height of the pandemic, they administered over 17,000 tests a month. Now it’s about 200 to 400 hundred per month.
“We had to reduce staff just because the numbers aren’t there right now, but we are maintaining because we know the service is still needed and the city is committed to making sure that the service is available to the community,” Jones said.
In fact, the city sites will remain open until at least the end of this year, and Jones believes we could see another surge in cases after spring break.
Testing may have dropped off for now, but where things are picking back up is people returning to the office. Christian Harden of NIA Hallmark, a local company that specializes in commercial real estate, says the downtown offices vacancy rate is nearly 13% -- up from 5% before the pandemic.
“The bigger the company, the slower they were to come back because logistics are so complex,” Harden said.
NIA Hallmark recently moved its offices to the fast-growing Brooklyn area of Jacksonville.
“I would say that when we entered March 2020, everybody was really nervous. I don’t think anybody had any expectations of what could happen. There were a lot of unknowns,” Harden said. “I think that we were preparing for the worst. Turns out that from the commercial real estate sector, and a lot of sectors in the real estate in Jacksonville, it’s been some of our best years on record.”
Some restaurants closed up, others survived but made adjustments
Restaurants have undergone some of the biggest changes. Some have closed, but the local restaurant association says they are not keeping track of those numbers because most restaurants have undergone changes in how they do business in order to survive.
Kacheryl Gantt owns the Avenue Grill just north of TIAA Bank Field. She says it was the neighborhood that kept her going.
“I believe it is going to come around and business will start to pick back up. I really do hope that for other restaurants that had to close down and haven’t had the support as much as I have had,” Gantt said.
Ken Geusse, owner of a Jacksonville Hurricane Grill and Wings, says keeping the doors open wasn’t easy.
“It was bad at first. The only way we survived was third-party pickup delivery,” Geusse said.
Over at Toscana Little Italy, as patrons dine on fine wine and Italian cuisine, owner Rebecca Winchester reflected on the hardship her business encountered after the pandemic began.
“We lost several months of revenues,” she said.
But two years later, when COVID infections and deaths are down and restrictions are no longer in place, the businesses are making a comeback.
“Today, we’re maybe running 70 to 75% of what we used to. I’m being optimistic. We are still slow, comparatively speaking,” Winchester said.
“We’re still holding our own and it’s pretty good,” Geusse said.
But now there are two problems impacting small restaurant owners across town. The lack of people wanting to work in the service industry and the rising cost of food.
The owner of Player’s Grill wasn’t available for an interview, but says he is having a hard time hiring staff while having to adjust to inflation. The other owners we spoke with echo the same concerns.
“Our costs are going up every day for our propane, electric, and water,” Winchester said. “The labor costs are going up as well as with the minimum wage increase. My food costs are soaring, if I can even get what I’m looking for.”