City of Hayward memorial honors lives lost to virus during first year of COVID-19 pandemic

HAYWARD, Calif., Jan. 25, 2021—The City of Hayward will honor the 149 lives lost to COVID-19 in Hayward during the first year of the pandemic with a display of 149 American flags and a special lighting installation starting at sundown tonight.

The Hayward City Hall rotunda has been wrapped in the flags for the memorial, and the building will be bathed in amber light with the message “We Remember” projected for 149 hours beginning at 5:21 p.m. tonight.

It was on Jan. 24, 2020, that a City of Santa Clara resident returned to the country from Wuhan, China, and a week later became the first person in the Bay Area to test positive for the then- new coronavirus.  The first recorded COVID-19 death in the U.S. occurred 13 days later in Santa Clara County on Feb. 6, 2020.

On March 11, 2020, City Manager Kelly McAdoo declared a local emergency freeing up resources, providing for greater operational flexibility and putting Hayward municipal government on an emergency footing in response to the virus.

As the City of Hayward honors lives lost to COVID-19 over the next six days, it continues to provide no-fee COVID-19 testing from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Skywest Golf Course, 1401 Golf Course Road, and weekly no-contact food distribution from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until supplies run out every Thursday at Chabot College, Parking Lot J, 25555 Hesperian Blvd.

To learn more about City initiatives and programs to support and sustain the Hayward community during the pandemic, go online to the COVID-19 Resource Portal on the City of Hayward website.