NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt realized the world was about to change while celebrating his 61st birthday. It was March 8, 2020, and Holt was with his wife, children and grandkids.
By then, everyone knew the SARS-CoV-2 virus was spreading throughout the world, but the magnitude of what was to come hadn't yet sunk in. "We had a lovely dinner and were sitting around having the cake.
At some point, I checked my phone, and there was news that Italy was going into lockdown," Holt recalls. "I remember this feeling in the pit of my stomach … that was kind of the moment like, 'Oh my God, that is going to happen here.' " The novel coronavirus pandemic is one of those once-in-a-century stories that is nearly impossible to prepare for.
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