The coronavirus death toll passed 200,000 in the US this week
WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A sea of American flags can be seen on the lawn of the National Mall in Washington DC, each one representing some of those who have died with Covid-19 in the country during the pandemic.
This week, the coronavirus death toll surpassed 200,000 in the US, the highest number of fatalities in the world.
To commemorate those who have lost their lives, the Covid Memorial Project organised for 20,000 flags to be planted in the capital.
“This extreme loss of life is staggering,” the group wrote on a GoFundMe page, accusing US President Donald Trump of mishandling the pandemic.
The memorial project “seeks to simply say: these lives are more than a statistic – they were family, friends, neighbours,” the group wrote.
President Trump has defended his response to the pandemic, arguing that he took swift action to ban arrivals from China and Europe earlier this year, among other measures.
Meanwhile, senior diplomats from China and the US have lashed out at each other at a meeting of the UN Security Council, deepening a row over the coronavirus pandemic.
China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, used his speech to reject US attempts to blame the country for the pandemic.
“I must say, enough is enough! You have created enough troubles for the world already,” he told the meeting via video link on Thursday. “If someone should be held accountable, it should be a few US politicians themselves.”
His comments appeared to be a response to US President Donald Trump, who called for China to be held “accountable” for the pandemic in his address to the UN General Assembly earlier this week.
Tensions between China and the US have flared over the pandemic and a number of other issues, including trade and alleged human rights abuses.
The US ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, voiced anger at the tone of Thursday’s UN Security Council meeting.
“You know, shame on each of you. I am astonished and I am disgusted by the content of today’s discussion,” Craft said. — NNN-AGENCIES
