New York Times devotes entire front page to names of coronavirus victims as death toll nears 100,000

‘They were not simply names on a list. They were us,’ says paper

The US has the world’s highest coronavirus death toll (New York Times)

The New York Times has identified the names of 1,000 people who have died from coronavirus during the global crisis as America’s death toll continues to soar to almost 100,000.

America, where Covid-19 has claimed more lives than any other country in the world, is easing lockdown restrictions despite the fact experts have predicted such reopenings will lead to thousands of further deaths.

The New York Times splashed a list of almost 1,000 names and memorable pieces of information extracted from obituaries on its Sunday front page. Its story is headlined “US deaths near 100,000, an incalculable loss”.

In an explicit bid to convey the gravity of the situation, the prestigious paper adds: “They were not simply names on a list. They were us.”

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, America’s death toll currently sits at more than 97,000.

“The 1,000 people here reflect just 1 per cent of the toll,” says the paper. “None were mere numbers.”

Experts argue the amount of people who have died from the virus is in fact far higher than official figures due to the fact some have died at home or were not included in the tally for other reasons.

Lila Fenwick, 87, “the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law” and Romi Cohn, 91, “saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo” are just some of the names the paper lists.

Critics are warning America will be hit by another highly fatal second wave of Covid-19 as lockdown eases.

A recent report by Harvard University discovered only nine states out of 50 total US states were carrying out, or near to doing so, the minimum advised testing.