‘We haven’t moved on’ expert says grief from Minnesota COVID-19 deaths still linger

It’s been five years since the COVID-19 pandemic caused mass lockdowns, shutting down bars, restaurants and schools in Minnesota and across the globe. And while the pandemic slowed down the world, it also cut through families and lives.

According to recent data, Minnesota’s death toll from COVID-19 is 16,678. More than the population of Bemidji. That big of a loss mixed with political division hasn’t allowed for much of the state to process that grief, said Pauline Boss, a professor emerita in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.

“We haven’t moved on,” she said on Morning Edition. “As long as we’re stuck in this place of ambiguity about what has happened, it’s difficult for the people to find some peace in the losses that they did have.”

Boss talked more about ambiguous loss with MPR News host Cathy Wurzer. Listen to their full conversation by clicking the player above.

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