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.

When Beth Humphries didn’t hear from her mother, Sandy Medford, last March 18, she called her brother, who also hadn’t heard from her.