[ad_1]
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris delivered remarks at the Lincoln Memorial to honor U.S. victims of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the same day the national death toll exceeded 400,000.
“To heal we must remember,” said Biden, with the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool behind him. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember. But that’s how we heal.”
It was Biden’s first stop in Washington after arriving earlier in the day before his January 20 inauguration.
President-elect Joe Biden speaks at a COVID-19 memorial, with lights placed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Tuesday, January 19, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)
Organizers have placed lights around the perimeter of the pool, a first step, according to the transition team, to commemorate the victims.
“Between sunset and dusk, let the lights shine in the dark along the sacred reflection pool and remember all of the ones we’ve lost,” Biden said.
THE CORONAVIRUS OF THE UNITED STATES DEATH THE TOP 400,000 AS VARIANTS TAKE INTO HAND
Harris, who spoke to the new president, said the event was meant to “pay tribute” to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died of the disease. She said the pandemic should serve as a reminder to celebrate the little things in life.
“Tonight we cry and begin to heal together,” she said. “Although we are physically separate, we, the American people, are united in spirit.”
After brief remarks, Harris introduced frontline nurse Lori Marie Key to sing “Amazing Grace”.
“If there are angels in Heaven, they’re all nurses,” Biden said, stepping onto the podium after leaving the stage.
After Biden’s brief remarks, which included a call to remember the dead, came a performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” by gospel singer Yolanda Adams.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington, delivered the invocation.
GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Earlier today, data from Johns Hopkins University showed the country crossed the threshold of 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths, barely a month after surpassing 300,000.
As one doctor said, one in 820 people died from the disease during the pandemic.
Fox News’ Kayla Rivas and Madeleine Rivera contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link