BRAZOS COUNTY, TX — Today, March 11, marks a year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
In remembrance, a group of Aggies organized to observe the one-year anniversary.
More than 500 thousand deaths nation-wide.
More than 200 deaths in Brazos County.
It only took 365 days from the time COVID 19 was declared a global pandemic to claim those lives and so many more.
"People see numbers and not stories. They get disconnected from what has happened. So, our goal here is to connect people with those stories and to pay respect to those who we've lost," Alexia Hernandez, organizer, B-CS COVID-19 vigil said.
At Texas A&M, a group of Aggies are planning a vigil and march Thursday night to put this hard reality into perspective.
"As a culture, we've kind of become desensitized to this volume of death and I found that to kind of be deeply detrimental to our collective psyche," Jessica Bomar, organizer, B-CS COVID-19 vigil said.
There will be a moment of silence, taking a second to remember each and every person from this community who lost their battle against the virus.
People were encouraged to submit a form to honor loved ones who passed away due to the virus.
Hernandez is among the group of speakers who will share her experience, noting her time as a COVID-19 contact tracer.
"I've heard a lot of people who have been perfectly fine and experience no symptoms from COVID. But I've also talked to people who have been in the hospital on oxygen and unfortunately, I have reached people who have been deceased," Hernandez said.
Reminding people that this is not the time to loosen precautions.
"It appears there's a flow of people going from being careful into being careless now and we would like to unify for a moment. To get that flow back to people caring again," Jessica Williams, freshman, and organizer, B-CS COVID-19 vigil shared.
Social distancing and masks will be enforced at the vigil.
The COVID-19 vigil will be held at Rudder Plaza from 6 to 8 P.M.
It will also be streamed on their official Instagram.
For more information about the upcoming event, click here!