COLUMBUS, Ohio — COVID-19 continues to shape our lives three years later In business, education, and definitively in medical science and public health.
10TV’s Tracy Townsend talked with Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts, who said she is pleased to see progress, but cautioned that there is room for improvement.
Dr. Roberts was at the forefront in March 2020, with the looming pandemic and in central Ohio, the highly anticipated mass gathering of thousands for the Arnold Sports Festival.
There were no vaccines at the time, no means of mass testing and Dr. Roberts urged city and state leaders to cancel the event. She said she has no regrets about making the call.
“It was the best thing we did for our community. I believe strongly that we prevented being on CNN on a regular basis being the epicenter of a large outbreak in Ohio,” Dr. Roberts said.
Three years later, Columbus, like cities across the country, moved from mass testing sites to home testing kits. Dr. Roberts said she is most encouraged by the focus on public health and the now commonplace strategies for health prevention including hand sanitizer stations in public, vaccinations, and staying home when you are sick.