The day of Frieson’s death escalated public concern at the time. By that point, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker had already ordered all bars and restaurants to prepare to close indoor dining to the public. The day of Frieson’s passing is also the day another one of Frieson-Lucas’ four sisters, Wanda Bailey, admitted herself to the hospital with breathing issues.
At his daily coronavirus briefing on March 17, 2020, Pritzker made the announcement about the death of Frieson who, he said, had also been in contact with another person who tested positive for the virus. Bailey, 63, spent nine days at St. James hospital in Olympia Fields, Ill. — with no visitors — before dying from COVID-19 on March 25, a mere four days after the statewide shutdown that left the streets of Chicago barren.
Frieson-Lucas was close with her sisters. Frieson was her neighbor, and all three attended the same church, so they were together often. When each sister went into the hospital, Frieson-Lucas was more hopeful for their recovery than fearful of their loss. She felt their faith in God would protect them.
“Our church was our favorite place,” Frieson-Lucas said in an interview with The TRiiBE on March 15, 2021, nearly a year later to the date of Frieson’s passing. The last time Frieson-Lucas visited their church home was July 2020. That was right around the time when Chicago moved into Phase 3 of it’s reopening plan, which included allowing people back at restaurants, bars, and other businesses as long as mask and social-distancing guidelines were enforced.
“We were still virtual, but my pastor liked to have a few people come into the sanctuary to lead praise and worship,” she said. There were about 10 people total in the building when she visited the sanctuary for the first time in over four months. The last time she went, she recalled, “there were about 30 people. Then, after that, the numbers went to spiking again.”