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.

The serious lower leg injuries Tiger Woods sustained in a car crash on Tuesday typically lead to a long and perilous recovery, calling into question his ability to play professional golf again, according to medical experts who have treated similar injuries.

Athletes with severe leg injuries thought to doom their careers have managed to come back — the quarterback Alex Smith returned to playing football last season after a gruesome leg break, and the golfer Ben Hogan returned decades ago after a car accident.

Across Massachusetts, hospitals are seeing a dramatic decline in the number of COVID-19 patients as more and more residents get vaccinated and cases plummet.

Testing has always been the first line of defense in the fight against COVID-19. And experts agree that even if the latest surge in Massachusetts has eased, that’s still the case.

“The numbers are decreasing and people are feeling safer, but this is when we need to test further,” said Dr. Kedardespande of the Metro West Medical Center in Framingham.

Dozens of people streamed through the revolving doors at the entrance of the Remillard Family Pavillion last week. Others opted for an open, more traditional doorway, just to the right to enter one of the buildings on the campus of UMass Memorial Health Care’s during the morning pedestrian commute to the hospital. 

Like moths to light, regardless of which entrance, they converged near a woman behind a sheet of plexiglass, who offered a mask to anyone that walked by.

Nine patients are receiving care at the DCU Field Center Hospital — half the number as last week — as COVID-19 cases continue to decrease in Central Massachusetts.

UMass Memorial spokesman Tony Berry said Monday that nine patients are currently at the field hospital, which recorded 18 patients last week, 31 patients in the facility the week before, and 39 patients the week before that.

UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center is welcoming a four-legged, tail-wagging furry friend to its staff Friday.

An in-residence assisted therapy dog named “Valentina” is officially becoming a full-time resident of the medical center as part of the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation’s Dogs for Joy program.