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World & Nation

Photo perspective | U.S. coronavirus deaths pass 100,000 mark in under four months, leading the world

The funeral of Charles Jackson Jr., who died of COVID-19, is seen through a window.
The funeral of Charles Jackson Jr. on April 15 is seen through a window at the Angelus Funeral Home in Los Angeles. Jackson attended the Black Summit of the National Brotherhood of Skiers in late February and early March. He fell ill after returning home and died of COVID-19 complications.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
By Melissa Etehad

They were musicians, engineers and teachers. And cancer survivors, firefighters, lawyers and doctors. Others were grandfathers, mothers and retirees. And some were just beginning their careers.

More than 100,000 Americans across the nation have died just four months after officials announced the nation’s first known coronavirus case, with COVID-19 killing both the old and young in cities large and small.

It’s a distressing milestone in the pandemic that the United States reached this week.

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President Trump, acknowledging for the first time Thursday that the number of deaths climbed past five figures after facing criticism for failing to do so, finally offered his condolences:

“We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000. To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The virus has not only changed the way people live but also how they mourn. The sick overwhelmingly have died alone, and loved ones have had to say their goodbyes over the phone or on video chat.

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And despite the United State’s wealth of information, power and leadership on the world stage, the death toll from the virus is more than double the number of reported deaths of any other nation.

But what that number doesn’t reflect are the memories that those people leave behind and the impact on the lives of friends, families, co-workers and communities.

According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos, 14% of Americans know someone who has died of COVID-19.

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As the nation reopens and COVID-19 continues to spread, with these images we look at how some lives have been affected.

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Four people in masks and gloves roll a casket at a cemetery.
Funeral director Sarah Smith, right, and other workers at Jay Chapel Funeral Home bring the body of Wanda DeSelle, 76, to a gravesite on April 8, 2020. Wanda DeSelle, a medical office worker in Madera, Calif., died of COVID-19. Immediate family had to remain in their cars as DeSelle was buried.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

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Melissa Etehad

Former Los Angeles Times staff writer Melissa Etehad is an Iranian American who enjoys writing about national and international issues. She received her master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in international affairs from UC San Diego and has reported from the Middle East and Europe. She previously worked at Al Jazeera English and the Washington Post’s foreign desk, where she covered the intersections of politics, religion and gender. She’s a native Farsi speaker.

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