Freedom Tower turns amber to honor 400k COVID deaths in U.S. as part of national tribute

With the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 infections topping 400,000 Tuesday, South Florida joined municipalities across the nation in honoring those who died from the deadly disease.

The tribute called for governments, business owners and religious institutions to illuminate the sky with amber and ring bells at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Among those participating: the Freedom Tower, PortMiami, Marlins Park, Stephen P. Clark Center and The Guitar Hotel at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

On the eve of his inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden memorialized the victims of COVID-19 at a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava encouraged people to remember the more than 4,500 Miami-Dade County residents who died during the pandemic.

“To all the families who cannot do that with the ones you’ve lost, my heart is with you — Miami-Dade is with you,’’ she tweeted Tuesday evening.

To all the families who cannot do that with the ones you’ve lost, my heart is with you – Miami-Dade is with you. And to everyone else, in the hard days that will follow, please remember that all those grieving families need us to be at our best as residents of this great county.

— Daniella Levine Cava (@MayorDaniella) January 19, 2021

“It’s important that we come together as a community and as a nation to mourn, reflect, and remember all those we have lost,” she said in a news release.