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Another Grim Milestone: 1,000 COVID Deaths In Long Beach
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia commended health workers on Monday for their efforts throughout the pandemic.
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Sharon McNary
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LAist
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Long Beach city officials gathered on Monday morning to mark yet another grim milestone in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Long Beach health department confirmed its 1000th death due to the virus since March 23rd of last year, when the city announced its first coronavirus fatality. Over the weekend, officials recorded two more deaths.
It is now the single leading cause of death for Long Beach residents over the past 18 months.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who lost his mother and stepfather to COVID just two weeks apart, said the city owes a debt of gratitude to its health care workers.
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"The loss of life would have been so much deeper, had it not been for our frontline workers, and our doctors and nurses in our hospitals," Garcia said. "They are absolute heroes."
Over the past few days, landmarks across Long Beach have been displaying white lights to commemorate the city's COVID-19 victims, and will continue through Monday evening.
The city council is also planning to build a permanent memorial to honor the lives lost during the pandemic.
Additionally, the city is collecting photographs from friends and family of those who lost their lives to create a digital memorial. Visitors to the site at longbeach.gov/covid19digitalmemorial, where the photos can be submitted, will be able to write messages in memory of those who died.
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