Each chair represented ten victims of coronavirus. Across from the White House on Sunday, a group called Covid Survivors for Change recruited volunteers to set up the display of 20,000 chairs. Sunday was National COVID Day of Remembrance and this one-day memorial was a powerful reminder of this tragedy. Imagine ten times this many chairs. That’s how many lives have been lost, so far. The Washington Post writes:

Those who spoke reflected the myriad ways the pandemic has shaken people’s lives. A Virginia teacher who worried for the health of her students. A Black entrepreneur who is struggling to get by. An emergency room nurse who was hospitalized with the virus and lost her brother to covid-19 weeks later.

While each speaker’s story was different, their message was the same: The pandemic is far from over, and a national strategy with cohesive leadership is the only way to prevent another 200,000 deaths.