The City of Lynwood will commemorate the 222 people in Lynwood who have died from COVID-19 this Saturday (March 13) at 5:30 p.m. The death rate in Lynwood and other Southeast Los Angeles cities is much higher than all of LA County. In fact, Lynwood’s death rate is 50% higher than the county average.
The ceremony will highlight local elected and religious leaders and can be viewed on the City’s Instagram feed (@mylynwoodca). The names of the residents who have died will be read. The ceremony will culminate at 6 pm (sundown) with the lighting of solar torches, one for each person in the community who has died.
“The hard truth about COVID-19 is that it has hit our city and our neighbors very hard. Per capita, more people have died in the Southeast region than anywhere else in LA County,” said Lynwood Mayor Marisela Santana. “These memorials on Saturday remind all of us not only of those whom we have lost but also will draw attention to the fact we need more vaccination sites in the region. The people we’ve lost aren’t just numbers on a county data base, they are our loved ones.”
Residents have submitted the names of their loved ones lost to the pandemic to be read during the ceremony.
Mayor Santana led the effort to hold this memorial throughout the Southeast LA region. Similar ceremonies are being held in the cities of Bell, Bell Gardens and Commerce. Cudahy, Hawaiian Gardens, Huntington Park, Montebello, Paramount and South Gate.