With number of coronavirus deaths passing the 3,700 mark in Miami-Dade County and 18,000 in Florida, more mock tombstones are going up in a memorial cemetery first established a couple of months ago.
Initially meant to represent the growing number of South Floridians we've lost to COVID-19 and remind us not to let down our guards, the memorial cemetery set up at Liberty City's Simonhoff Park has turned into something positive.
"People by the dozens began to flock to the cemetery to write the names of their loved ones on the mock headstones that we had established. And it has grown, and they left flowers, and they're grieving, and people on Facebook are talking about it. And so I decided it was time to expand it," says Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.
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This morning she's unveiling a thousands new headstones and is inviting people, no matter where they live, to tape pictures and write loved ones names on them. "It will give you solace."
Since surrounding zip codes are also seeing surging coronavirus cases, CARES Act money is being used to open a walk-up and drive-through testing site at the nearby Jessie Trice Community Health System.
A second coronavirus memorial cemetery is also set up in North Miami's Griffing Park.