President Biden has ordered flags lowered to half-staff today to mark 1 million Americans lost to COVID-19.

The president released a statement Thursday morning ahead of a pre-recorded address to a virtual COVID-19 summit.

His statement:

“Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a community, and a nation forever changed because of this pandemic. Jill and I pray for each of them.

To those who are grieving, and asking yourself how will you go on without him or what will you do without her, I understand. I know the pain of that black hole in your heart. It is unrelenting. But I also know the ones you love are never truly gone. They will always be with you.

As a nation, we must not grow numb to such sorrow. To heal, we must remember. We must remain vigilant against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before. It’s critical that Congress sustain these resources in the coming months.

In remembrance, let us draw strength from each other as fellow Americans. For while we have been humbled, we never give up. We can and will do this together as the United States of America.

May God bless the one million American lives lost and their loved ones left behind.”

As of Wednesday, the U.S. has reached 1,002,848 COVID deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.