As the United States approached 1 million COVID-19 deaths, President Joe Biden issue a proclamation Thursday to lower the American flag to half-staff at the White House, federal buildings, military installations and overseas facilities in memory of the lives lost.
“Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a community, and a Nation forever changed because of this pandemic,” the proclamation states.
Gov. Steve Beshear issued an order to lower flags at state office buildings. Flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Monday.
“All people are unique and irreplaceable children of God, and all those we have lost deserved more time on this Earth, more time with their families,” Beshear said in a press release.
More than 15,700 Kentuckians have died from COVID-19.
As the country reached the grim milestone in the pandemic, health officials are urging people to remain aware that the virus that cause COVDI-19 is still present.
“Over the past couple of weeks, COVID-19 cases in Christian County have slightly increased. This is a reminder that COVID-19 has not gone away, and it is important to remain vigilant to social distance when necessary, wear a mask indoors, get vaccinated against COVID-19, and stay at home if you’re feeling under the weather,” the Christian County Health Department said in a Facebook post Thursday.
According to the health department’s coronavirus dashboard, as of Thursday there had been 17,273 COVID-19 infections and 196 deaths confirmed in Christian County since March 2020.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Kentucky on March 7, 2020. The first case in Christian County was announced on March 19, 2020.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
