Members of the community, first responders, and people who have lost loved ones gathered Monday in Edinburg to remember the last two years of the pandemic as part of the county’s first COVID-19 Memorial Day.

Each ringing of the memorial bells represented 100 people who have died from COVID-19 in Hidalgo County. It rang 38 times for the more than 3,800 people who lost the battle to the virus since 2020.

“It’s been two years of suffering,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. “Two years of losing loved ones. Two years of financial hardships. Two years of mental anguish. Two of the most challenging years of our lives.”

RELATED: March 21 declared COVID-19 Memorial Day in Hidalgo County

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office presented the colors and Pepe Forina, a well-known former baseball coach for PSJA ISD who lost his legs as a direct result of COVID complications, gave the pledge of allegiance.

A powerful prayer from several faiths in multiple languages solidified the call for healing.

Yvette Correa, a retired school teacher, shared her story of how she lost her husband to COVID-19 on Aug. 3, 2020. He was 59 years old.

“The last thing I told him, I said, you are my fighter, you are my rock,” Correa said. “You need to get better, you need to come home to me. I can't do this without you.”

Correa’s husband was on a ventilator for just 36 hours before died, months before the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved. Correa says if the vaccine had been available, things might have been very different.

“My husband would have been the first one in line to get that vaccine,” Correa said. “I know it’s a very personal decision for individuals, but as somebody who lost somebody and whose life forevermore will be changed, those vaccines do work.”

Hidalgo County Health and Human Services Chief Administrative Officer Eddie Olivarez said he remembers when confirmed cases peaked in the summer of 2020.

By mid-July, more than 200 Hidalgo County residents had died and many more were in hospitals—a far cry from where the county stands today.

“Today, we have 55 people in the hospital compared to July of 2020 when we had 1,400,” Olivarez said.

Olivarez reminds county residents there are still people dying every day from COVID-19 and urges people to “wake up” and not underestimate the protection of getting fully vaccinated and boosted.