TRENTON, Mich. – Last year, a family had to find a way to safely celebrate a grandmother’s 99th birthday during the coronavirus outbreak. READ: Family finds way to safely celebrate grandmother’s 99th birthday despite coronavirus outbreakThey sang to her from the front yard, safely social distanced. So they took their 2020 birthday plans and expanded them for 2021. The family asked the community to send her birthday cards and she has received more than 80. RELATED: Family plans COVID-safe 100th birthday for Trenton grandmother, asks community to send cards

DETROIT – Local 4 hosted a primetime special “Coronavirus Crisis: One Year Later” on Thursday night -- you can watch that and read coverage from the special below. Watch Part 1Watch Part 2Watch Part 3Watch Part 4Watch Part 5Watch Part 6

He returned to the hospital to get married outside the intensive care unit at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Garcia was one of the first people in Metro Detroit to contract COVID-19. He said he struggles when he sees and hears of people who still choose to deny the seriousness of coronavirus. We don’t have anything else.”Still, a year later, he’s incredibly hopeful. He is hopeful that one day he will return to saving lives, instead of continuing to fight for his own.

DETROIT – There is no standard policy for reporting how many COVID-related deaths have occurred in Michigan nursing home facilities. Gretchen Whitmer’s policies as they are related to nursing home deaths. READ: Michigan AG looks into requests to investigate state nursing home policyMany families are simply left lost and alone as they search for answers to what happened to their loved ones. Whitmer stands by COVID nursing home policy amid threats of legal actionSen. Jim Runestad is one of the lawmakers demanding answers from Whitmer’s office about nursing home deaths during the pandemic. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office is looking into requests to investigate the state’s COVID-19 nursing home policy.

In the early days of the pandemic, many of us were afraid to touch anything. And too many people only realized they’d come in contact with it when they suddenly found they’d lost their sense of taste or smell. Something closer to actual warfare broke out in spats between Americans divided over proper COVID precautions. READ: CDC provides guidance for people who are fully vaccinated against COVIDAs we head into the second year of COVID, the fights remain intense. AdREAD: Local 4′s Dr. Frank McGeorge looks back on COVID pandemic on anniversary of first casesWe’ve tried hard in our newscasts to celebrate the good.

Local 4 asked Monto to reflect on the vaccines’ success and asked what’s next. READ: 1 year into COVID: What we wish we’d knownAdThe original goal of the COVID-19 vaccines was to be at least 50 to 60 percent effective. He said the biggest challenge facing the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee has not been evaluating the actual vaccines, but rather, not being able to gather in-person to do it. Monto said there will be more vaccines coming before the advisory committee for their consideration. He said they may also be called to examine the data on how the vaccines perform in children, once those trials are finished.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – Teachers have had the tough task of engaging students either in-person or over a screen throughout the COVID pandemic. One of those teachers was a math teacher, who wore a tuxedo and treated remote learning like a formal affair. He works to capture the attention of his students any way he can. Steve Koponen is a teacher with Farmington Public Schools. Despite the challenges of COVID he has managed to make his most memorable year teaching even more memorably by his style of teaching.

TRENTON, Mich. – Last year, a family had to find a way to safely celebrate a grandmother’s 99th birthday despite the coronavirus outbreak. READ: Family finds way to safely celebrate grandmother’s 99th birthday despite coronavirus outbreakLast March, Mary Mikola’s family put on the best 99th birthday celebration they could. We hold the side of this board up and write what we’re trying to say to her through the window,” Mikola’s granddaughter Terrie Derupa said. Those are the reasons why Mikola’s family plans to celebrate her 100th birthday on March 20 in a big way -- while still being as safe as possible. If you want to send a card to Mary Mikola for her 100th birthday you can send it to the following address:

That need inspired a contagious spirit of giving, which has been displayed in hundreds of acts of kindness. The project started last spring with tomato plant seedlings that were grown in their greenhouse. The roadside table became a small pantry where neighbors could share any extra food they had. Then that small pantry got large. Click here to visit the Facebook page for Ridgewood’s Little Free Pantry.

More than 15,000 Michigan residents have died from coronavirus since the pandemic began one year ago. Michigan has reported more than 2.7 million doses of the COVID-19 administered, as of Wednesday. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 29 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 529,300 deaths reported from the virus. More than 66 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The video above is a tribute to those who lost their lives during the COVID pandemic.

Nov. 18, 2020: Local 4 assignment editor shares experience with COVID-19 vaccine trialLocal 4 assignment editor Matt Triplett said he wanted to do everything he could to help end the pandemic and get us back to a more normal life. “I talked to several people I trust and this is just the right thing to do.”AdWhile most of the world has watched and waited for a vaccine, Triplett decided to help make it happen. After researching various trials, he signed up for a Pfizer vaccine study without hesitation. AdOn Feb. 3, he received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. “If you get your chance, please go get the vaccine,” Triplett said.

Watch our primetime special “Coronavirus Crisis: One Year Later” at 9 p.m. Thursday. Watch Local 4 or stream it here on ClickOnDetroit:The first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan were announced March 10, 2020. If you could go back a year, before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept into Michigan in March 2020, what would you tell yourself? I am the one who went above and beyond the meaning of ‘FAMILY,’ and ‘FRIEND’ should be closer. I am the one who accepted the family members or friends that the rest of the family or other friends did not like.

Watch our primetime special “Coronavirus Crisis: One Year Later” at 9 p.m. Thursday. Watch Local 4 or stream it here on ClickOnDetroit:The first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan were announced March 10, 2020. If you could go back a year, before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept into Michigan in March 2020, what would you tell yourself? I am the one who went above and beyond the meaning of ‘FAMILY,’ and ‘FRIEND’ should be closer. I am the one who accepted the family members or friends that the rest of the family or other friends did not like.

We are asking ClickOnDetroit readers a hypothetical question:If you could go back a year, before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept into Michigan in March 2020, what would you tell yourself? And finally, find pleasure in carrying out simple household tasks, because they matter.” -- Judith Matlock“First and foremost, I would tell myself to stock up on toilet paper, Lysol wipes and bread!!! And I would tell myself that 99% of my family and friends didn’t get it and were fine even if they did.” -- Sonya“You will save one hour a day not dressing up and driving to work. I am the one who went above and beyond the meaning of ‘FAMILY,’ and ‘FRIEND’ should be closer. I am the one who accepted the family members or friends that the rest of the family or other friends did not like.