Worcester Academy sophomore Justin Mohaghegh of Holden tested positive for COVID-19 in January. Before getting back to playing his sports — basketball and golf — he had to complete the school’s five-stage protocol.

It's a process familiar to all Worcester Academy student-athletes who contract the coronavirus.

Mindfulness apps are ubiquitous. But mindfulness and mindfulness meditation, a form of meditation that focuses on present moment experiences, existed long before smartphones arrived on the scene, and have been used to soothe humans in stressful times well before COVID-19.

Ginny Wholley, a certified mindfulness-based stress reduction instructor at UMass Memorial Health Care Center for Mindfulness, defines mindfulness as an awareness that comes from the practice of paying attention with a kind and non-judgmental attitude. 

Central Massachusetts has not seen a drastic spike in COVID-19 cases since the state started reopening and for residents hoping things go back to normal soon, it's good news. 

But UMass Memorial Health Care CEO, Dr. Eric Dickson, says the region isn't out of the woods yet. 

"Our biggest concern now is the UK variant that is clearly in central Massachusetts and on the rise" he said. 

As the Commonwealth of Massachusetts prepares to enter the next phase of the reopening plan on Monday, health care leaders from throughout the state play a major role in Governor Baker's decision making process.

As a military veteran, it may be a natural comparison for Dr. Eric Dickson to make a war analogy to the coronavirus pandemic he, UMass Memorial Health Care, and the entire Central Massachusetts region are starting to emerge from after a nearly year-long fight.

“We’re approaching V-Day,” Dickson said, referring to the day World War II ended. “We’re feeling that the end of this is near.” 

The personal stories began taking shape a year ago, backdropped by an unfolding pandemic.

There was much to tell. Stories of heartache, of illness, of death. Stories of changed routines, of working from home, of no school. 

Before long, as weeks turned to months, the stories had to be reworked and updated.

It was a press briefing a year ago on Sunday which started it all.

In an interview March 14, 2020, City Manager Ed Augustus said, "Things are literally changing by the hour. We're continuing to monitor those situations, guidance from the state and federal government, as well as folks who are being tested."

The City had just confirmed it's first case of coronavirus. Thousands would follow in Worcester, millions worldwide.

Many people have spent the last year working from home, but as more COVID-19 vaccines get into people’s arms, employers are preparing to bring back staff to the workplace.

“I think employers, from what I’m seeing, they’re not in any rush. They want to do it delicately,” said Eva Sadej, the CEO of Medbar, a group that is helping employers plan and implement strategies to safely bring people back to the office.

As new weekly coronavirus cases saw a “small uptick” in Worcester, city officials announced the senior center vaccination would be closing by the end of the month.

City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. announced during the weekly COVID briefing that the senior center, which began vaccinating residents on Jan. 11, would administer its final doses on March 30.