Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Nearly a million Americans have died ofCOVID-19since the start of the pandemic, and calls are growing for the U.S. government to establish a day in honor of victims and survivors.
But the groups will also voice their support for designating an annual COVID Memorial Day in remembrance of those lost during the pandemic, and the many others who made countless sacrifices to help in the fight.
“As we mark two years of living with — or dying from — COVID, individuals around the world are collectively grieving almost six million deaths,” said a description on theCOVID Memorial Day Virtual Vigilpage. “The scale of this loss, particularly in communities of color, is unprecedented.”
“We deserve an annual COVID Memorial Day to honor those who have died and recognize the tremendous sacrifices –– both voluntary and involuntary –– of people working on the front lines, who face chronic health issues or disabilities due to long COVID, and who are grieving the loss of partners, children, parents, friends and other loved ones,” it continued.
COVID Memorial.PATRICK T. FALLON/Getty Images
The event will feature speakers including U.S. Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona, Reimagine Co-Founder and Executive Director Brad Wolfe, musician Marque Cass, and Marked By COVID Co-Founder Kristin Urquiza.
Urquiza helped start the group after the death of her father, 65-year-old Mark Anthony Urquiza, in June 2020, according toNBC News.
Urquiza told the outlet that creating a national memorial day for COVID-19 victims would hold politicians accountable for policies that may have exacerbated the pandemic.
“Our elected officials are holding two truths at the same time. One, they do recognize something like memorializing our lost loved ones as a no-brainer, as necessary,” Urquiza told NBC News. “But it also helps solidify that this was real, that it had a really big impact on our lives, and that their leadership, their policies, played a role in getting us to where we’re at right now.”
“This is an opportunity for learning and for codifying those lessons learned,” she later added, “and thinking about it as gifting the wisdom of our lived experience to future generations.”
Urquiza said Marked By COVID is working on launching a permanent memorial for victims and is collecting designs from artists.
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In February 2021, PresidentJoe Bidenled acandlelight vigilat the White House alongside Vice PresidentKamala Harrisand their spouses that included a moment of silence as the U.S. passed 500,000 dead from COVID-19.
“We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic, or a blur, or on the news. We must do so to honor the dead, but equally important, care for the living,” Biden said at the time. “As a nation, we cannot and we must not let this go on.”
According to theNew York Times, 957,427 Americans have died from COVID-19 as of Monday.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
