Memorial for COVID victims to be held the night before Biden’s inauguration ceremony
President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration will include a memorial honoring those who have died of COVID-19.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee told multiple media outlets Thursday that the ceremony will be held at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington, D.C., the evening before Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2021.
It will be the “first-ever lighting around the reflecting pool to memorialize American lives lost,” the committee told The Associated Press.
Communities across the country are invited to join in the memorial event by lighting up buildings and ringing church bells at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19 for a “national moment of unity and remembrance,” Axios reports.
The memorial will mark one of the few public remembrances of the more than 342,000 American lives lost to COVID-19 this year. CNN reported in October that there had been no communal mourning or national remembrance for coronavirus victims.
COVID Survivors for Change, a group of coronavirus survivors and family members of victims, has pushed to change that — placing 20,000 empty chairs on the lawn across from the White House on Oct. 4 and declaring the date as a national day of remembrance for those who have died from the virus.
Another group placed 20,000 American flags in front of the Washington Monument in September after the country surpassed the grim milestone of 200,000 deaths, NBC News reports.
Pili Tobar, a spokesperson for the inaugural committee, said in a statement to NBC News the inauguration of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris represents “the beginning of a new national journey.”
“However, in the midst of a pandemic — when so many Americans are grieving the loss of family, friends and neighbors — it is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation’s history and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation,” Tobar said.
Planning is underway for Biden’s swearing in, which will look different than past ceremonies due to the pandemic.
Tickets will be limited to members of the 117th Congress and one guest each, according to the committee. That’s roughly 1,000 people. Normally, members of Congress would distribute 200,000 tickets to their constituents.
Few details about the scaled-down event have been released. But earlier this month, Rep. Jim Clyburn, co-chairperson of Biden’s committee, told CNN to expect inauguration festivities to be 75% to 80% virtual and to resemble the setup at the Democratic National Convention.
Inaugural events have “grown and changed” over the years but typically include a procession to the U.S. Capitol, the swearing-in ceremony and address and a luncheon, among other traditions, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Organizers said the event will include strict safety protocols with a “reimagined parade.” Earlier this week, the inauguration committee announced the traditional luncheon will not be held, according to the AP.
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 7:30 AM with the headline "Memorial for COVID victims to be held the night before Biden’s inauguration ceremony."
