ATLANTA — It’s a sobering sight: 10,000 white flags now dot the main field of Piedmont Park, representing each victim of the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia.
Local activists and COVID-19 survivors installed the flags on Sunday morning on the Meadow.
[SPECIAL SECTION: Coronavirus Pandemic in Georgia]
“Backdropped by Atlanta’s legendary cityscape, each of these flags will represent the more than 10,000 Georgians who have already lost their lives to COVID-19,” event organizers said. “Every person we have lost was loved and needed. Throughout the day names of those we lost will be read aloud.”
The official death toll released by the Georgia Department of Health is 9,891, though it’s probably that over 1,000 more deaths were caused by the coronavirus.
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Event organizer and COVID-19 survivor Timothy Franzen said that the art project is meant to provide a visual representation of the staggering toll the virus has taken on Georgia and call for a real, comprehensive government response.
“I could have been one of the flags I’m planting. But instead, I wanted to honor those who have passed,” Franzen said. “Georgians are ready to make real change and for many of us, that starts with the Senate runoff election on Tuesday. We will turn out -- once again -- in record numbers to make sure that our votes honor those who have passed from the pandemic and to fight for all of us who are still struggling.”
The group is calling on Congress to get to work on day 1 of the incoming administration to get to work on a COVID-19 relief package that meets the scale of the crisis.
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