News of the Spike in COVID Cases Follows Presidential Debate During Which President Trump Said COVID-19 “Will Soon Be Gone”
Pennsylvania Members of COVID Survivors for Change Will Hold a Remembrance Event Today in Philadelphia to Honor Those Taken By the Pandemic
NEW YORK – In response to news that the U.S. reached a new high in COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the non-partisan grassroots survivor network, COVID Survivors for Change, released the following statements:
“My heart aches for the more than 77,000 Americans who received a COVID-19 diagnosis on Thursday, as well as their families,” said Noe Sepulveda, a member of COVID Survivors for Change and nurse anesthetist who survived COVID-19 and whose mother, Teresa, died of COVID-19 after 36 days on a ventilator. “These are our loved ones, not statistics. I know the fear and heartbreak that can come after a loved one gets that dreaded diagnosis. I hurt for those experiencing this preventable crisis now, and along with millions of COVID survivors, I’m planning to vote in honor of them, as well as my mom.”
“Last night, the president once again downplayed the pandemic, rejecting the idea of the dark winter to come and promising the virus would soon be gone,” said Chris Kocher, executive director of COVID Survivors for Change. “His rhetoric is not only inaccurate and irresponsible — it’s also deeply insensitive to every family who lives with an empty chair at their table because of COVID-19. We deserve a president who will take dying families as seriously as he takes dying businesses.”
About COVID Survivors for Change
COVID Survivors for Change is a national, non-partisan movement bringing together Americans who have lost a loved one to COVID-19, as well as those who have survived the virus and those whose lives have been dramatically altered by the pandemic. As part of COVID Survivors for Change, Americans are mobilizing to make sure that communities have the funding, resources and leadership in place to address future public health emergencies. Survivors will also find community and healing in meeting other people whose lives have been forever changed by the pandemic. For more information, please visit: covidsurvivorsforchange.org.
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