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Group pushes for COVID memorials to mark 3 years since start of pandemic

Virus Outbreak
Posted at 12:02 PM, Jan 09, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-09 14:02:15-05

In March, it will be three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

The virus has sickened more than 664 million people. More than 6 million globally have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There's a push in the U.S. to create a memorial for the victims.

"I lost my dad to COVID early on in the pandemic. For me, this is not just about the loss of my dad. It's about the more than one million people that we've lost since his passing, and the need to take a stop a pause even to reflect upon what we've been through over the course of the last couple of years," said Kristin Urquiza.

The organization, Marked by COVID, is working on getting memorials across the country for the first Monday in march.

Organizers recently set up a virtual memorial in Los Angeles, which includes pictures and tributes to people who died from the virus.

"We need covid memorials to be able to heal first... and to heal, we must remember," Urquiza said.

Advocates are also working to make the first Monday in March a federal holiday.