BELLE GLADE, Fla. — Remembering and memorializing those who lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, a moving dedication took place in the Glades.
"We've been losing a lot of folks in this community," said Mayor Steve Wilson.
Western Palm Beach County has been hit especially hard during the pandemic.
"There was a lot of hesitation in the community about COVID and about vaccines and trying to get past that was a challenge," said Commissioner Melissa McKinlay.
Community leaders said the latest numbers show more than 140 people died from the virus in the Glades, and nearly 6,000 residents tested positive.
Both hospitals and funeral homes were overwhelmed. But as numbers improve, this small community is now memorializing the lives lost.
During an annual VIP luncheon on Friday, the mayors of Belle Glade, South Bay, and Pahokee lit candles, prayed, and released white doves into the air.
"Small communities like Belle Glade, South Bay, and Pahokee, people that we've known for years having to say goodbye to them it's sad," Wilson said.
But now, vaccine hesitancy has improved, vaccination rates have climbed, and hospitalizations and deaths have dropped.
"Everybody really working together has been the biggest positive seeing everybody work to lift this community out of this current health care pandemic," McKinlay said.
WPTV is learning that county staff is holding meetings, working to maintain testing and vaccination sites, and keeping those resources accessible and available.
