On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors passed a motion ordering the Director of Arts and Culture and the Director of Public Health to work with the public to develop ideas for a memorial in honor of Los Angeles residents who have died in cause of COVID-19.
Supervisor Hilda Solis’s motion requires a six-month report with ideas to honor those who died from COVID-19, as well as expected costs and timelines for suggestions.
Solis wrote in his motion that the county should use the arts to create a memorial in a way that is open, accessible, and positively impacts the mental and physical health of all communities to “allow Angelenos to express their pain and to heal”.
According to the Department of Public Health, more than 33,500 people have died in the city from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
“Each of these lives represents much more than just a statistic,” the motion states.
Cumulatively, the cases and death rates among black residents are 1.2
and 1.7 times higher than the case and death rates among white residents, respectively. The disparities are even greater for Latino residents, with their case and mortality rates 1.7 and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than among white residents. “
President Joe Biden believes the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is “over”, although he assures that his government continues to work against the problems generated by the coronavirus.
The motion notes that vaccines and other therapies have helped reduce the impact of the virus.
“However, it is important to remember and commemorate the residents we have lost, especially using the healing means of the arts,” according to the motion.
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