January marks deadliest month of pandemic for country, state

January ended up being the deadliest month of the entire pandemic for the country, the state and for Orange County.

While it might be easy to glaze over each day’s totals as just a statistic, there are people with raw emotion behind those numbers.

Deborah Oquendo lost her mother to COVID-19. The family came to Orlando after Hurricane Maria, searching for a safer life.

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But Oquendo’s mother, Esther Fuentes Santos, had diabetes, high blood pressure, emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis.

And last month, Santos caught the coronavirus.

“I talked to her (the) 12th of January, and the 13th of January she passed away,” Oquendo said.

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Before January, last July was the deadliest in Orange County, when 158 people died from COVID-19. Then, 145 died in August, 80 in September and 90 in October.

In November, 85 died, and then 103 died in December, for a total of 191 people in January, including Santos.

“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that she’s passed away,” Oquendo said. “I (will) never see her again.”

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The number of COVID-19-positive cases is finally starting to decrease in Orange County, according to health officials.

As of Monday, 958 people have died in Orange County from COVID-19.

January was also the deadliest month for the state of Florida, with more than 4,700 dying in the state alone.

Cox Media Group