The City of Long Beach will honor residents who have died from COVID-19 with the creation of a digital memorial.
The announcement comes as the city reached 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths recorded as of midnight on Thursday, Sept. 16 by the Department of Health and Human Services.
“These people were our friends, neighbors and loved ones,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “My heart goes out to every single person who has lost a loved one to COVID-19.”
In order to create the digital memorial, the City has started collecting photographs from friends and family of those who died.
Photos can be submitted to longbeach.gov/covid19digitalmemorial along with messages in memory of those who lost their lives.
“Over the past 18 months, COVID-19 has been our leading single cause of death in Long Beach,” Health Department Director Kelly Colopy said in a statement. “Even more devastating is that some of those deaths were preventable—most of the approximately 65 lives lost since the vaccine became widely available were among those who were unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. We continue to work to help people understand the importance of the vaccine in protecting our residents in Long Beach.”
Long Beach will light City facilities tonight as a way to honor those who have died.
The City’s first death due to COVID-19 complications was reported in late March 2020. The number climbed to 500 in mid-January 2021 during the winter surge.
Of the 1,000 people who died since the start of the pandemic in Long Beach: 84 were ages 18 to 49; 213 were ages 50 to 54; and 703 were ages 65 and over.
Those who are unvaccinated and wish to receive the vaccine can get more information by visiting longbeach.gov/vaxlb. People interested in scheduling an appointment or need further information may call 562-570-4636 or email Covid19Vaccine@longbeach.gov for assistance.
