Seeing as I\u2019m writing this while housebound for three weeks even though I tested negative for COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic has upended everyday life in innumerable ways.<\/p>\n
Most devastating of all is the human cost. By this weekend, the national death toll due to the virus will exceed the population of the entire city<\/em><\/a> of Madison. That\u2019s an astonishing, alarming fact that drives home the seriousness of the virus. Here in Wisconsin, nearly 3,500 people<\/a> have died from COVID-19, a number that is depressingly certain to rise.<\/p>\n With that in mind, the Twitter account Faces of COVID<\/a> seeks to remember those lost to the novel coronavirus. Since launching in March, curator Alex Goldstein has shared obituaries of the deceased. In the process he\u2019s painted a detailed, human portrait of an unprecedented disaster. After all, it\u2019s hard to see someone as a statistic when you know they \u201ccame out of retirement to teach at a nursing school in Dallas to prepare young students to combat the pandemic,\u201d like Iris Meda did<\/a>.<\/p>\n Faces of COVID has featured about 30 of Wisconsin\u2019s coronavirus deaths. They were all preventable losses, and these are their stories:<\/p>\n MICHAEL ANTHONEY 67 of Janesville Wisconsin died of COVID on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n "Mike especially enjoyed family get-togethers, 4th of July was his specialty & he always looked forward to meeting up with his fellow pyromaniac relatives to put on the greatest show."https:\/\/t.co\/50SNfBjJVp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0f6cmIEhu9<\/a><\/p>\n — FacesOfCOVID (@FacesOfCOVID) November 28, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n