Anniversary Of 1st COVID Death To Become NYC 'Day Of Remembrance'

NEW YORK, NY — The anniversary of the first coronavirus death in New York City will become an annual "Day of Remembrance" for New Yorkers lost to the virus, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday.

"On March 14 each year we will remember the painful lessons we learned," the mayor said.

The announcement came as an exuberant de Blasio celebrated the end of 2020 with a hopeful New Year's Resolution to vaccinate 1 million New Yorkers against the coronavirus by January.

But the hopeful New Year won't be without the painful memory of 2020, when nearly 25,100 New Yorkers died from the coronavirus, he said.

"All the families who lost loved ones, my heart goes out to you," de Blasio said. You’re in our thoughts and prayers all the time we know this has been incredibly difficult."

The first death in both New York City and the state was an 82-year-old woman with emphysema, who died at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, 10 days after she was first hospitalized.

Back then, there were only 183 cases of the virus in New York City, a number that would rise to more than 426,000 by the end of the year.

On Thursday, the city's seven-day infection rate stood at 8.87 percent and there were 199 new hospitalizations with coronavirus.

De Blasio said the "Day of Remembrance" will pay particular attention to how New York City can address inequality that was laid bare by the coronavirus crisis

"We lost people of every background, of every income level, every neighborhood — this was tragically was a disease that affected everyone, but it did not affect everyone equally," de Blasio said. "...It's a day to look back, but it will always also be a day to look forward to say, 'How do we do better?'"