Photo by Norbert Kundrak on Unsplash

This Sunday, March 14 marks one year since the first resident of New York City died from the coronavirus. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the date will be recognized as an official day of remembrance for the nearly 30,000 city residents who passed away from the virus. This week the mayor invited people to share the names and photographs of family, friends, and neighbors lost to COVID to possibly be featured as part of the city’s online memorial taking place on March 14.

“We’re going to mark Sunday with a sense of respect and love for the families who have lost loved ones in this crisis,” de Blasio said on Monday.

If you lost a loved one to COVID-19 and would like their name and photograph to maybe be featured during the city’s memorial, complete the form found here. You can also share stories and photos by using the hashtag #COVIDMemorial.

The memorial will be streamed online via the mayor’s Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube on Sunday, March 14 at 7:45 p.m. More details on the event will be released in the coming days.

The first known case of COVID-19 in New York was reported on March 1. The following day, Governor Cuomo announced a new initiative to perform 1,000 tests per day in the state. Nearly a year later, the state performed close to 250,000 tests on its record-high day December 12. The first COVID-related death on March 14 was an 82-year-old New York City woman who suffered from emphysema.

According to New York Times data as of Monday, 1.6 million people across New York state have been infected with the coronavirus; 47,857 have died. Data from the city’s Health Department updated on Monday reports 752,383 total cases and 29,823 total deaths, including confirmed and probable.

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• New York City has administered just 25% of COVID vaccine allocation
• NYC launches online COVID-19 vaccine tracker
• 74% of New York’s COVID spread is coming from at-home gatherings

Editor’s note 3/8/21: The original version of this story was published on January 5, 2021, and has been updated with new information. 

Tags : Bill de Blasio, coronavirus, covid-19