The Covid-19 pandemic has, understandably, been on the backburner for the last couple weeks in light of the racial social justice protests taking place from coast-to-coast in the United States. In terms of coronavirus, every state has either reopened or is the early or middle stages of doing so.

As with most issues in life, Covid-19 only deeply resonates with many people if they are personally affected or if they directly know someone who is. Otherwise, the focus tends to be on the personal inconveniences and economic hardships related to the shutdowns.

I wasn't immune from such feelings, either. That is, until I found out that someone I knew was among the nearly 113,000 Americans who have passed away after contracting the disease. A few weeks ago, Donna Morrissey, a spokesperson for the Red Cross and the Boston Archdiocese, passed away at age 51. She died of COVID-19 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

I posted about Donna on my Facebook page, but I also want to share her story with my HockeyBuzz readers. I first met Donna when I was the director of the Bruins Foundation. She represented the Red Cross during a blood drive at TD Garden, sponsored by the Bruins and the Bruins Foundation.

Donna was a beautiful woman, both on the outside and, more importantly, in the inside. Energetic, vibrant and caring. Well-spoken. Made eye contact and remembered your name. She was sincerely nice to everyone she met, and possessed the rare personal touch that is both endearing and rare.

When I met Donna, I found out that she was related to an old friend and officiating colleague of mine. Her cousin, Billy Morrissey from Springfield, was an AHL linesman who worked with me in the American League.

Donna was also tough, by necessity. She was the spokesperson for Archdiocese during one of the most difficult and tumultuous times in its history: the clergy sexual abuse scandals and reputed coverups. It was Donna who had to go out daily in front of the TV cameras and talk to the media. She fielded the maelstrom of tough questions from the press about the clerical misdeeds and what would done about it, both responsively and proactively. When there were justifiably angry victims and family members who wanted answers and demanded action, it was Donna who spoke to them.

Talk about a difficult job. Being an NHL referee dealing with an irate coach or booing crowd -- or a player dropping the gloves with the toughest guy on the other team -- is nothing compared to being the designated person responsible for the public response to horrific situations that you personally had no hand in creating. But Donna handled it all with a level of style, grace, elegance and sincerity that was remarkable, in my opinion.

Over the last several months, I've been asked a lot if I knew anyone that had the Covid-19 coronavirus. Sadly, I now have to say "YES."

Rest in peace, Donna, and my deepest condolences go out to your family, friends and co-workers as well as those of everyone who has been directly affected by this awful, and far-too-contageous disease. Nationally, we have just passed 2 million cases. Within the next week, tragically, our country will surpass 116,000 deaths.

If you can't fathom that number or among the (not very bright, in my opinion) people who say, "well, it's just a tiny percent of our population who dies from it", here is dose of perspective. In World War I, the United States suffered 116,516 casualties. Of note is the fact that the USA lost more military personnel to disease (63,114) than to combat (53,402). That was primarily due to the 1918 influenza pandemic. Keep in mind that medicine has come a long way since then.

Also notable: In the Vietnam War, some 2,709,918 Americans served on active duty. There were 58,220 American casualties; an horrific total representing 2.1 percent of our deployed armed forces personnel. It's an horrific fact of history. Anyone who would dare say, "Well, if you served in Vietnam, you had a 98 percent chance of not dying" would rightly be derided as a tone-deaf cretin. Statistically, the American death rate from Covid-19 is about 0.05; which is way, way too high. Also keep in mind that the first and last American casualties in the Vietnam War were spaced about 14 years apart. The national pandemic death toll has happened over less than six months.

As for those in denial about the existence or severity of the pandemic, spare me your half-baked conspiracy theories and show some respect to your countrymen and women that we've lost as well as to their families. Covid-19 is real, and so is the pain and loss that it has caused both worldwide and within the United States. If you haven't been affected personally and do not know anyone who has, consider yourself fortunate and count your blessings. But don't add to the pain of those who haven't been so fortunate.

To steal a line for Forrest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.

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A 2018 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Visit Paul's official websites, YaWannaGo.com and Officiating by Stewart.