Special to Iredell Free News

RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper announced Monday that the North Carolina Executive Mansion will be illuminated on January 19, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. in remembrance of the lives lost as in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooper invites all North Carolina counties and municipalities to join in this memorial by lighting buildings and ringing bells at churches and houses of worship.

“In the midst of the battle against this pandemic, we continue to mourn the hundreds of thousands of Americans we have lost and send our prayers to the grieving families and friends they leave behind,” the governor said. “Please join me in honoring their memories by taking responsible actions to prevent more deaths by wearing a mask, keeping our distance and being smart.”

The call for memorial on January 19 was begun by the Presidential Inaugural Committee in an effort to find unity in a nationwide tribute honoring the lives taken by the pandemic.

According to the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services, 8,083 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in North Carolina since the onset of the pandemic. Across the U.S., the death toll is approaching 400,000.