Chicago, cities across US hold memorials to honor COVID-19 victims

CHICAGO - Across the nation Tuesday night, cities held memorials for the more than 400,000 victims of COVID-19.

In Chicago, buildings, homes and landmarks went dark to mark the occasion.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her wife Amy were at Millennium Park, where those in attendance went silent for 10 minutes to remember the more than 9,000 people in Cook County alone that have died during the pandemic.

After the 10 minutes of silence, iconic buildings across the city’s skyline lit up in an amber color to honor coronavirus victims, while some areas were lit up with candles.

"Hope will get us through these next few months and hope will unite us," said Mayor Lightfoot.

Every 26 seconds, someone dies from coronavirus in the United States, which is now the country with the most deaths from the virus as of Tuesday.

The disease is now claiming more American lives each week than any other condition, ahead of heart disease and even cancer. It is grim, but Doctor Jeffrey Kopin from Northwestern Medicine says there has been advancement in how to treat coronavirus.

"When we were first starting to deal with the pandemic to what we are capable of doing now, when we care for our sickest people, it’s night and day. We actually have treatments that work," Dr. Kopin said.