Editor’s Note: During the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many aspects of our community. Throughout March, staff writers Gina G. Scala, Monique Demopoulos and David Biggy explore the depths of those changes within Southern Ocean County and what the future may hold for the area.

This time last year, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation – the initial peppering of positive cases bringing a wave of panic and hysteria as hospitals became congested with the sick, and others prepped for what they hoped would be only a few weeks…