Gov. Beshear: Hope is on the horizon after dark, painful year of pandemic.

One year into our war against COVID-19, Kentucky is a changed commonwealth and we are changed people.

We arrive at this moment battle-scarred but resolute as we reflect on our losses, honor the sacrifices so many have endured, and feel hopeful for the first time in a very long time, as we press onward to our ultimate victory over this global blight.

March 6, 2020, began as a beautiful day in the commonwealth. In Frankfort, it was one of those early bright and sunny days that lets you know another glorious Kentucky spring – with all of its promise of life and renewal – is just around the corner.

But that afternoon I received the call that changed everything: The first case of COVID-19 had been diagnosed in Kentucky and the war had arrived on our doorstep.

Now, one year later, this evil virus has taken more than 4,700 Kentuckians and more than 520,000 of our fellow Americans.

These are our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, our neighbors and friends. Some even have suffered the unspeakable loss of a child to this deadly scourge.

This is a war. We have lost more Kentuckians to COVID-19 than in battles during World War I, World War II and Vietnam combined.

This is a battle that still has months to go. It may take a decade or more before we get a true picture of COVID-19’s full devastation, between unknown deaths and long-term complications.

My commitment is that there will be no unknown soldiers in Kentucky’s war against COVID-19. We will recognize the full level of this tragedy and honor those who are no longer with us.

While too many paid the ultimate sacrifice – so many more Kentuckians have stepped up, sacrificed and served selflessly.

We thank our doctors, nurses, those who have kept our hospitals and long-term care facilities running; educators; our companies who have donated PPE or retooled to manufacture protective equipment; those who ensured we had food, electricity and internet; the parents who worked remotely while they kept their kids engaged and learning.

And those who have sacrificed to help lead our response efforts – there are so many. Local, county and state staff; and public health personnel who have worked tireless hours to protect those in their communities and across the commonwealth.

After this year, we all have a renewed appreciation of what service to our state and our fellow Kentuckians means. And we have a renewed thankfulness for being able to spend meaningful time with family and friends.

This year has tested us all in ways few could have imagined possible.

Along with the illness and loss, this pandemic also brought isolation and hardship for many Kentuckians. We have taken aggressive steps to help those experiencing the economic hardships of this pandemic, but I know many Kentuckians are still hurting.

As dark as many days have been this past year, I believe in the promise as told in the Gospel of John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

We are now once again on the cusp of spring, but this year the sun feels brighter, and we are more hopeful and optimistic than we have ever been in our fight against COVID and about our future.

Our infection rate has dropped and we are quickly vaccinating tens of thousands of Kentuckians.

We must continue to follow all of the health guidance and get the safe and effective vaccine – our shot of hope – when your turn comes. And news from the federal government continues to pour in about more and more supply coming to the commonwealth more and more quickly.

This is how we protect and save Kentuckians from more loss in the waning days of this war.

While individually and collectively we will grapple with the unfathomable loss and sacrifice of the last year for decades to come, I know we will defeat COVID and we will defeat it this year.

I know this is a great commonwealth of extraordinary people. You have demonstrated your strength and compassion every day of the last 12 months, and I couldn’t be prouder to be your governor.

Powered by the people of this state, we are poised to emerge from this pandemic a stronger, better commonwealth with more opportunities for every Kentuckian. If we are bold and take the opportunities before us, we can sprint out of this pandemic and lead in the post-COVID economy.

March 6 will live in Kentucky history as a solemn day of reflection and grief. But, let future generations also remember this anniversary as a moment when we also felt hopeful that the end to this painful pandemic was on the horizon – and we banded together to protect one another to achieve our ultimate victory.

Andy Beshear is the Governor and former Attorney General of Kentucky.