You will not find Door County Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jim Heise wax poetically about his time spent behind a camera in a conference room near the emergency department. It was there that, five years ago, Heise shared the spotlight with then-Door County Public Health Director Sue Powers about the newest information regarding a novel coronavirus that would later become known as COVID-19. The pair, along with others, recorded more than two dozen videos between March 2020 and January 2021, marking the first cases in the region, the stay-at-home order issued by Governor Tony Evers on March 24th, 2020, and then the first positive test in Door County on March 30th, 2020. Thousands would tune into the updates provided by Heise and Powers, providing interactions with community members that could not be found elsewhere in the region. Heise says he is glad they were able to connect with residents about what was going on during the pandemic, especially at a time when things were moving faster than they could keep up.

Looking back, Heise says some aspects of the pandemic, such as shutting down businesses, were probably unnecessary. However, he understands why it had to be done at the moment and remains shocked at how political the pandemic became over time.

Heise says he is happy that COVID-19 is treated like the flu or other respiratory viruses thanks to the combination of people who have been infected by or have been vaccinated against it. You can watch our full interview with Heise below.