Today marks one year since the first death from COVID-19 in the Czech Republic. To commemorate all the victims of the pandemic, church bells around the Czech Republic rang for one minute today at noon. This morning, 25,000 white crosses were painted on Prague’s Old Town Square, each symbolizing a Czech resident who died from COVID-19. Photo Credit: NS / BD.
Czech Rep., Mar 22 (BD) – Today marks one year since the first death from COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, a 95-year-old man in Prague. To commemorate the victims of the pandemic, church bells around the Czech Republic rang for one minute today at noon, as part of the Minute of Silence initiative. This morning, 25,000 white crosses were painted on Prague’s Old Town Square, each symbolizing a Czech resident who died from COVID-19.
As of today, 24,667 Czech residents have died from COVID-19. The Minute of Silence’s representatives Petr Pospichal, Jana Hradilkova, and Jan Kasparek write that “Many other victims are probably not included in the statistics. We are convinced that sharing grief and memories of the victims together will enable our society to move better and more dignified into the future that awaits us after the end of the pandemic. There will be many new challenges that we will have to learn to deal with. But the memory of the victims should not fade away.” The decision to organize the event was made in January as COVID-19 cases rose significantly in the Czech Republic.
The three initiators of the event from the fields of human rights, politics, and journalism are calling for the awareness of people from across the political spectrum, with the aim of drawing attention to the human dimension of the COVID-19. “The grief and the death have remained only as statistics; it is as if we have forgotten that death on this scale impacts the state of our society as a whole and its ability to cope with the current situation,” say Pospichal, Hradlikova, and Kasparek on the event website. The initiators also underline the importance of sticking together as a society in hard times and call for everyone to observe a minute of silence as a symbolic farewell to the victims. “I think it is perfectly fine for everyone to have a minute of silence for themselves, wherever they are. Those in the streets or at home can take a minute of silence with their loved ones to remember the victims and survivors of this pandemic,” said Pospíchal. More information on the event and follow-up events of the initiative can be found here.
