A World Remembers: Memorials honor COVID-19’s 5 million dead

By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press

BERGAMO, Italy (AP) — The Italian city that suffered the brunt of COVID-19’s first deadly wave is dedicating a vivid memorial to the pandemic dead: A grove of trees, creating oxygen in a park opposite the hospital where so many died, unable to breathe. Bergamo, in northern Italy, is among the many communities around the globe creating memorials to commemorate lives lost in a pandemic that is nearing the terrible threshold of 5 million confirmed dead. Some have been drawn from artist’s ideas, or civic group proposals, but others are spontaneous displays of grief and frustration.  Everywhere, the task of creating collective memorials is fraught, with the pandemic far from vanquished and new dead still being mourned.