Biden to mark upcoming 500,000 US Covid-19 deaths with candle lighting ceremony

With the United States approaching half a million Covid-19 deaths, plans are underway for President Joe Biden to mark the moment this week.

The President is planning to deliver remarks and hold a candle-lighting ceremony at the White House around sundown as soon as Monday if the threshold is crossed, a White House official said.

First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will also participate. 

At least 498,897 people have died in the US from coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The nation has reported more than 28.1 million total cases.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House was working on plans so the President could use his “own voice and platform to take a moment to remember the people whose lives have been lost, the families who are still suffering.” 

One day before taking office, Biden, Harris and their spouses held a somber ceremony on the National Mall to commemorate the more than 400,000 lives lost to Covid-19. “To heal we must remember,” Biden said at the time.