Joe Biden leads ceremonies as US coronavirus deaths pass 500,000

Church bells chimed across Washington to mark one of the grimmest anniversaries in modern American history.

US President Joe Biden speaks about lives lost to Covid after the death toll in the US passed 500,000. Picture: AFP

Church bells chimed across Washington to mark one of the grimmest anniversaries in modern American history, as the death toll from the coronavirus topped 500,000 in the US.

The number, greater than the US death tolls in both World Wars and Vietnam combined, saw flags fly at half mast across the country as Joe Biden led a sombre ceremony to mark the tragic milestone.

At a ceremony held at the White House with 500 flickering candles representing those lost, Mr Biden described the toll as “truly grim” and “heartbreaking”.

“That’s more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth,” he said. “But as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, we remember each person and the life they lived.”

“To those who have lost loved ones this is what I know, they’re never truly gone, they’ll always be part of your heart,” Mr Biden said. “The day will come when the memory of the loved one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye … my prayer for you is that (those days) will come sooner rather than later.”

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hold a moment of silence during a candelight ceremony in honor of those who lost their lives to coronavirus. Picture: AFP

Mr Biden urged Americans not to become “numb” to the death toll simply because it was so large as he, the first lady, vice president and second gentleman held a moment of silence outside the White House.

Across the city, the bells of Washington’s National Cathedral tolled 500 times, one for each 1000 victims.

The size of the death toll would once have seemed unthinkable in a country as rich and advanced as the US but the country has mismanaged the pandemic at every level of government.

“These numbers are stunning,” the country’s top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci said. “If you look back historically, we’ve done worse than almost any other country and we’re a highly developed, rich country.”

The US has recorded 28 million coronavirus cases, a number that is almost certainly vastly understated. The country accounts for 20 per cent of worldwide coronavirus deaths despite having only 4 per cent of the world’s population. The pandemic has taken a year off the average life expectancy in the US, the largest fall since World War II.

The virus has up-ended life in the US, crushed its once-buoyant economy and played a large role in Donald Trump’s election defeat last November.

US President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, US Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, hold a moment of silence. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump was widely seen to have mismanaged the pandemic by refusing to harness a strong federal response, by underplaying the seriousness of the virus and by criticising testing and the wearing of face-masks.

But the large death toll in the US was also the result of a piecemeal response by states, an underfunded medical system and a strong libertarian spirit that saw people refuse to abide by the sort of lockdowns seen in Australia.

The virus has spread across the US like a bushfire, raging in New York last April and then in the sunbelt states of the south over June/July, then in the midwest before surging across all parts of the country in December and early January.

However the 500,000 milestone also coincides with some rare good news with infection rates falling sharply across the US over the past 6 weeks.

New cases have fallen from a peak of around 250,000 a day in mid-January to around 70,000 a day now, similar to the levels in October last year.

Deaths still remain stubbornly high but have fallen from 3,500 a day to around 2,000 a day over the past month.

Experts are divided about the reasons for the sudden fall, with some citing seasonal factors while others say it is the early effect of the rollout of vaccines and the absence of major holidays.

The US rollout of coronavirus vaccines has been plagued by supply shortages and poor logistics. However around 44 million Americans have now received at least one vaccination shot representing just over 13 per cent of the total population.

Vaccination priorities vary from state to state, but most states are still vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents, although other states are now vaccinating anyone over the age of 65.

Despite the recent encouraging trends, both Dr Fauci and Mr Biden have been cautious about declaring that the worst of the virus threat is over.

They warn that the spread of dangerous virus variants or a more careless approach to social distancing could easily see infection and deaths spike higher again.

“We’ve got to be really careful and not just say ‘OK we’re finished now, we’re through it,” Dr Fauci said.

The first known US deaths from the virus was recorded last February, with the death toll passing 100,000 in June. It then hit 200,000 in September and 300,000 in December, jumping to 400,000 just a month later and then 500,000 a month after that.

Since their approval in December, more than 75 million doses of the two-shot-regimen Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been distributed.

Mr Biden has said he hopes that every American who wants a vaccine will have one by July.