Jun 14 (Reuters) – New York City will hold a parade honoring essential workers next month to honor their heroism in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday.
The parade will tour the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, July 7. For generations, homage parades in America’s largest city have typically been reserved for sports champions, astronauts, and war veterans.
“We are going to hold a parade to honor them, to thank them and to celebrate them,” de Blasio said in a video released by his office.
“This one will have a special spirit, a special heart and soul because it’s about celebrating the everyday New Yorkers who did something so heroic.”
In addition to health workers, the parade will honor police officers, teachers and transportation workers, who came to their jobs every day during the pandemic despite the risks.
More than 33,000 people lost their lives to COVID-19 in New York City, once the epicenter of the outbreak, while hospitals were besieged and streets virtually devoid of human activity.
“It has been literally the biggest crisis in New York City history. We have fallen, but we have risen,” de Blasio said.
In announcing the parade, de Blasio also urged New Yorkers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as the rate of fully vaccinated residents in the city was 47% as of Monday, according to the city’s health department.
New York City, with a population of 8.3 million, had a median positope rate of 0.59% in seven days and only 50 new hospitalizations on Monday. Most of the citywide indoor seating restrictions were lifted in May. (Report by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago Edited in Spanish by Javier López de Lérida)
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