109 candles for 109 victims. Lexington remembers its COVID losses.
As the number of people who have died due COVID-19 in Kentucky and across the country continues to grow, the city of Lexington paused Friday to remember the more than 100 people from Fayette County who have died since the pandemic began.
In the window of the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center on Main Street, 109 candles were lit.
“Each candle represents a person we have lost,” Mayor Linda Gorton said during a brief remembrance ceremony in front of the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Before the ceremony, where several faith leaders gave brief remarks, the city’s churches rang bells to honor those who have died. Downtown Lexington buildings will be lit green Friday night.
Loss of a loved one is always hard, Gorton said. It’s especially hard during Thanksgiving and the holidays. Many who have died due to the highly contagious respiratory disease have died alone, Gorton said.
But Lexington will not forget them, she said.
“It’s important for us to stop and take time to reflect,” Gorton said. “To remember those who we have lost.”
Dr. Jamil Farooqui, who represented the Muslim community at Friday’s ceremony, said he knows people who have died from the virus and people who are currently in intensive care, battling COVID. It’s been an emotional few weeks, he said.
The virus does not discriminate. It does not care what God you pray to or how much or how little you have, Farooqui said.
It’s important to remember those who we have lost. But seven months after the virus first arrived in Kentucky, it’s also time to reflect on what we are doing to protect ourselves and the people we love, Farooqui said.
“Are we doing things to solve the problem?” Farooqui said. “Or are we the problem?”
Lexington reported three new deaths Friday. The city’s coronavirus death toll is now 109. It’s the third consecutive day that Lexington has had at least one new death. There have been five deaths this week, making it the deadliest week since Nov. 1.
Nationwide, the United States has surpassed 252,000 deaths. It is now the third leading cause of death behind heart disease and cancer.
