Editor’s note: Thursday was the second anniversary of Ohio’s primary election being canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, people from the business community and labor representatives reflect on the changes of the past two years.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago caused trepidation for the area’s economy and status as a tourist destination, but Belmont County’s agencies found ways to adapt.

St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Director Wendy Anderson recalled the confusion and uncertainty of those early days and the difficult choices many business owners had to make about staying safe while remaining viable.

“We were frightened. Nobody knew what to do, and nobody wanted to be the first to try something new. Whoever started the curbside service, when that started, that’s what allowed everybody else to do the same thing, and that really helped,” Anderson said. “It has affected so many of us in so many different ways. Either you lost someone and your family will never be the same, or you got COVID and you are still fighting every day to get better. For the businesses it was a major blow. I still hear people saying, ‘I still haven’t recovered from two years ago.'”

Anderson said many businesses are still concerned about a resurgence of COVID-19 and how it might impact them. She also thought back to the contradictory messages about when to wear masks and how to apply precautions.

“Businesses were in the forefront of that, and they were so scared and they were trying to figure out what to do without losing a lot of business,” Anderson said, noting state-mandated precautions posed another set of difficulties. “We all had to put the signs up. You had to wear a mask. … Some people were irritated and mad and they wouldn’t go in and shop if they had to wear a mask, and that hurt some businesses.”

She said there is a need for greater understanding and empathy among all involved. However, despite the difficult times, Anderson said local businesses have risen to the occasion.

“We are stronger than we thought we were. We are more apt to be flexible than we thought we could. We were able to rise above the issues of the pandemic,” she said. “It made us a stronger, more cohesive community.”

COVID-19 also took a heavy toll on tourism, with Ohio’s many fairs and festivals either canceled or severely curtailed.

Barb Ballint served as director of Belmont County Tourism Council during much of the pandemic. She is now retired, but the trials that concluded her career will not soon be forgotten.

“I just remember the sheer panic and the sense of fear that everyone had, for personal and professional reasons, and that for me being executive director of the tourism council, our main source of income being the lodging tax, just trying to scramble to figure out how it was going to impact my office, my staff and the local economy and the tourism industry,” she said.

“Because of events and fairs being canceled, having to just brainstorm on how to market the area that was being hit with a pandemic, and how we just rebranded basically during that time,” she said. “Remember small business. Remember support local.”

Ballint also promoted outdoor options.

“We have beautiful outdoor venues that you can enjoy and control your atmosphere,” she said.

“There was a silver lining on that gray cloud of the pandemic,” she said. “Everyone started working better together. There was a better form of collaborating and supporting each other and lifting each other up. I think we’ve been able to carry that throughout the pandemic, and hopefully we’ll continue to carry that.”