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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — On this day last year, the first case of the coronavirus was detected in the United States.
The country quickly learned what social distancing meant and wearing a mask became the norm. Within the year that followed, more than 400,000 Americans would go on to lose their lives to the virus — a quarter of them this past month.
Holding their loved ones in their hands and hearts, family members mourned Tuesday at the steps of City Hall in Jersey City.
MORE: Jersey City Residents Mourn Lives Lost To COVID-19 Pandemic As US Death Toll Surpasses 400,000
“COVID took the strongest man I’ve ever known within a week’s time,” Sabila Khan said. “My father spent the last week of his life in a hospital three blocks away from us, and we couldn’t be with him.”
When Khan’s father passed away last April, she didn’t get to say goodbye. Being with those who understand COVID grief is therapeutic.
“Remember the faces behind the numbers. To remember they had names, lives, loved, had families that they’ve left behind,” she said. “That’s what I want the country to remember.”
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
The event was part of the national moment of unity and remembrance.
At the National Cathedral in Washington, funeral bells rang out 400 times. White flags went up outside a museum in Missouri, and there were candlelit moments of silence in Chicago.
In New York, the Empire State Building shone bright, and Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke at the Statue of Liberty about the tragedy endured by the city. Earlier he warned the city is on track to run out of vaccines Thursday.
“We will have literately nothing left to give as of Friday,” he said.
COVID VACCINE
The mayor said more than 220,000 vaccines have been administered. On average, every three seconds a New Yorker was getting vaccinated.
However, due to limited supply, New York University is now only offering a vaccine to patients 75 and older who have had primary care visits in the last three months. Like many hospitals, the New York Community Hospital in Midwood has canceled three months of appointments, since it has a low supply.
Many New Yorkers were not thinking this is where things would be one year later.
“The bottom line is New York’s a disaster,” said Brooklyn resident Gloria Hacken. “They’ve got to get together and make definite plans.”
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The mayor seems optimistic that President-elect Joe Biden will send more doses to New York.
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