Kaiser Permanente physicians and staff today held a remembrance at Moanalua Medical Center to honor patients, family and friends lost to COVID-19 — as well as those still struggling with the long-term effects of the disease — on the two-year anniversary of the day it was declared a global pandemic.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii diagnosed and cared for the first two patients with COVID-19 in Hawaii, according to spokeswoman Laura Lott.

Over the last two years, Kaiser has cared for more than 30,000 patients with COVID-19 in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Kaiser has also administered nearly 350,000 tests for the coronavirus and vaccinated more than 200,000 people across the islands, including more than 50,000 non-members.

“Today’s ceremony honored health care heroes and included a traditional blessing of hands — hands used to care for patients,” said Lott in a statement. “Staff were also encouraged to write the name of a loved one lost to or struggling with COVID-19, on a paper butterfly to hang on bamboo branches.”

The bamboo display will rotate to several sites within Moanalua Medical Center to allow all staff the opportunity to commemorate a loved one.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

At the time, there were more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 deaths due to what was then called the “novel coronavirus.”

Today, more than 6 million people have died from COVID-19 around the world, according to Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO.

“Although reported cases and deaths are declining globally, and several countries have lifted restrictions, the pandemic is far from over,” said Ghebreyesus, “and it will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.”

He reminded countries that testing remains part of a comprehensive strategy to monitor where the virus is, how it’s spreading, and how it’s evolving in the world, and that it remains a vital tool in the fight against the pandemic.