Downey pays tribute to residents killed by Covid-19

Downey officials paid tribute to Covid-19 victims on Tuesday. From left: Mayor Claudia M. Frometa, Mayor Pro Tem Blanca Pacheco and council members Catherine Alvarez, Sean Ashton and Mario Trujillo. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

DOWNEY – The Downey City Council gathered outside of City Hall with staff and members of the city’s religious community on Tuesday to pay their respects to the 301 Downey lives lost to Covid-19 during the pandemic.

The ceremony took place just moments before the council fully reopened its city meeting to the public for the first time in 15 months.

An emotional Mayor Claudia M. Frometa said that she felt it would “be appropriate to take a pause and remember” the community members who contracted and succumbed to the disease.

“Globally, we lost over 3.8 million people. Across the country, we lost 602,000 Americans. Here in Downey, 301 lives were lost due to Covid-19,” said Frometa. “That is 301 families whose lives were impacted in more ways than one. These are loved ones. These are friends. These were active community members that were a part of Downey.”

“As daunting as these numbers are, it is important to remember and to honor each person and each life that they lived.”

Frometa took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of continuing vaccinations.

“As we turn the corner, and as we stand here and we grieve those that have passed, it is essential to remember that just because things are opening up, it does not mean that Covid-19 has gone away,” said Frometa.

“We must continue to encourage those who have not received the vaccine to do so. As we know, we have a new variant, many variants, but one that is very aggressive: the delta variant out of India. In communities with low vaccination rates, the potential for a resurgence in Covid is great.”

“We must continue those vaccinations, if not for ourselves, but for our loved ones.”

Jasmin Alvarez sang “Amazing Grace” at a ceremony honoring local victims of Covid-19. (Photo by Alex Dominguez)

The ceremony included a prayer by Samuel Jebananthan and a performance of Amazing Grace by Downey High School Choir senior Jasmin Alvarez.

Mayor Pro Tem Blanca Pacheco, who was mayor at the time that the pandemic hit, also shared a few words.

“These events like these always make an impact; when something tragic happens, we always remember where we were, what we were doing,” said Pacheco. “For this pandemic – this 100-year pandemic – it almost like the year was lost, like we were living through this nightmare where each and every one of us lost loved ones, each and every one of us knew somebody that had passed away, and each and every one of us felt the impact.”

“We all felt like we were never going to get through this, and now we’re actually starting to see the light; the light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.

“We still have a lot to go…but it is with great pleasure that we’re having this event today to remember all those lives that were taken away from us due to this pandemic.”

A wreath was placed outside of city hall to honor those who passed.