Two keyboard keys not responding properly

Was it only the key covers that suffered damage or was the key itself that was damaged?

The key cover should not affect its working. If you are saying the keys are not responding, then you have a faulty key. The key cover, hinge and under cap are mechanical parts; you can press on a key cap with your finger and it will respond.

Keyboards, be it laptop or any other kind of physical keyboard, are a single entire part that requires replacement in order to repair even if only an individual key. All keys are set on a circuit membrane that transmits the key pressing signal to the logic board that in turn translates it into machine code.

Apple products are by definition extremely hard to repair on your own, because of its design and several security features put in place in order to make harder for tampering to go unnoticed.

I understand it is a nuisance for you to be without a working machine for so long but as previously suggested, you can inquire if a temporary replacement can be loaned to you for the repair duration.