Death toll breaks 500 thousand Biden： refusing to be numb to grief
China news agency, Washington, February 22 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) The number of deaths in COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 500,000 on February 22. On the same day, US President Biden held a ceremony at the White House to mourn the death of COVID-19, and ordered the national flag to be lowered at half-mast until 26th.
According to the data of Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of 16: 24 EDT on 22nd (5: 24 Beijing time on 23rd), the cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States exceeded 500,000, reaching 500,071, and the number of infected people exceeded 28.17 million.
At about 17 o’clock, the White House lowered its flag at half mast. The National Cathedral in Washington rang 500 bells to mourn the death of COVID-19.
"500,071 people died." At sunset, Biden made a speech on the COVID-19 epidemic at the White House. There was a pause when he read the number.
Biden said that in the past year, the lives lost by COVID-19 in the United States "exceeded the total number of people killed in the First and Second World Wars and the Vietnam War". "As a country, we can’t accept such a cruel fate. We have been fighting the epidemic for so long, but we must refuse to become numb to sadness, and we must refuse to regard every life as statistics, a vague thing or news. "
On the day before Biden was sworn in, there were more than 400,000 deaths in COVID-19. At that time, he arrived in Washington for his first public event, that is, he went to the reflection pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial to attend the national public sacrifice ceremony for the dead in COVID-19.
In his speech on the 22nd, Biden once again called on the American people to unite to fight the epidemic. "Stay alert, keep social distance, put on a mask, and get vaccinated when it’s your turn."
He then stressed that the United States must end the "political differences and false information" in the process of fighting the epidemic, which have torn families, communities and countries and caused too many lives. "It was not Democrats and Republicans who died of the virus, but our fellow Americans, our neighbors and friends."
After the speech, the Bidens and Vice President Harris came to the south side of the White House to observe a moment of silence for the 500,000 COVID-19 dead in front of the Washington Monument. Black veil is hung at the main entrance on the first floor of the White House. 500 burning white candles are arranged from the first floor along the stairs on both sides to the terrace on the second floor.
Despite the recent steady decline in the epidemic curve in the United States, the cumulative number of deaths continues to rise. Data show that the number of deaths in the United States exceeded 100,000 on May 27th, 2020, 200,000 on September 22nd, 300,000 on December 14th and 400,000 on January 19th, 2021. It took more than one month for the death cases to range from 300,000 to 400,000 and from 400,000 to 500,000.
The mainstream media in the United States used "shocking milestones" to describe this day. The Associated Press said that 500,000 was once "an unimaginable number" for the United States.
Fauci, an American infectious disease expert, said that the COVID-19 epidemic has never been experienced in the United States in 102 years since the influenza pandemic in 1918. "People will keep talking about it in the coming decades.".
According to the data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of the 22nd, over 44.13 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, accounting for 13.3% of the total population. According to the data model of the University of Washington, by June 1, the number of deaths in the United States may exceed 589,000.
Biden also said that unity is the "only way" for the United States to overcome the epidemic. "Only in this way can we avoid more pain and loss. Only in this way can these heavy milestones no longer become national mourning days that need to be commemorated. "