Speaking from the House floor Monday, Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona pushed to designate a national day of remembrance for COVID-19 victims and survivors.
“Commemorating this memorial day is an important marker for all those affected across the country and to help our country heal from this trauma,” Stanton said in his remarks. “Long after our nation moves beyond this ordeal, we will need to collectively recognize all that we have lost and the trauma of what we have experienced.”
Days after the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. surpassed 500,000, Stanton introduced a resolution in the House on Friday that would recognize March 1 as COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day. The move built on the grassroots support generated by Marked by COVID, an advocacy group formed during the pandemic.
According to the resolution, the day is meant to mark the many lives lost to COVID in the U.S. and globally, and acknowledge the ongoing grieving and widespread loss felt throughout the pandemic. Stanton and Marked by COVID would like the observance to become an annual tradition, which requires bicameral support in Congress. At this time, there’s no companion bill in the Senate, Stanton’s office said.
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