An America Bereaved: A Day To Grieve The Victims Of COVID-19

WAMU 88.5 | By Kaity Kline

Published May 26, 2020 at 2:23 PM EDT

Imam Said Sherzadi stands alone near the casket of Ghulam Merzazada, at the National Memorial park cemetery in Fairfax, Virginia.

As the coronavirus death toll in the United States approaches 100,000, how can we comprehend the scale of our loss?

As President Donald Trump has compared America’s response to coronavirus to a military campaign, some are asking for a national day of mourning to honor those who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

Some Americans are grieving individual losses. Some are attending drive-up funerals. Or holding online services. But many memorial services are postponed until the bereaved can be together.

But how should we mourn the nearly 100,000 dead? And what would a national day of mourning look like?

Kaity Kline

Kaity Kline is an Assistant Producer at Morning Edition and Up First. She started at NPR in 2019 as a Here & Now intern and has worked at nearly every NPR news magazine show since.