4 New Yorkers remember loved ones lost to COVID-19
Once the pandemic’s epicenter, New York City has finally found a way to flatten the curve, and yet it still leads the country in COVID-19 cases and deaths. As of Tuesday afternoon, New York City has more than 222,100 confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 22,600 deaths, while the country has almost 3 million cases and more than 130,000 deaths. Beyond each number is a name that belongs to a person who means so much to a community and family. Yahoo News honors the lives of those lost during this pandemic and remembers the sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends and family of those all around us. These are their stories.
Video Transcript
ANDREW CUOMO: I speak to many families who are going through this, many people who have lost loved ones. Every one is a face and a name and a family that is suffering. And I want every family to know that they're in our thoughts and prayers.
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SATCH YOUNG: These were the two closest people in my world besides my children. You know, we have people in our lives that, you know, we talk to them every day, multiple times a day. Sometimes your days are not complete if you don't talk to them. For me, it's like I've lost my right hand and my left hand and my right leg and my left leg, if you really want to push it to that.
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ROCCO DESERTO: Being the mama's boy that I am, I always wanted to take care of my mom. I always watched out for her. I always wanted to do everything I could for her, and I couldn't do anything at this point. Literally, I can't even put into words how much she meant to me because she was literally everything.
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JENNIFER PREZIOSO: He can be remembered like as a legend really. He was so strong. He worked with me really up until that last week. And I remember he was still doing what he does, which is like waving people in. We had tour groups coming by, and I'm like, grandpa, you can't-- like this is not the time. We can't have people come in anymore. But he was really just such a joy.
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SAM ADEWUMI: Jonathan's mission and his purpose here was really to be a facilitator, and that's what he did, and that's what he did well. He connected communities together. He connected people together. He exposed people to things that they had never been exposed to.
SATCH YOUNG: I don't think there's ever just one word to say, except I love you, and I miss you.
ROCCO DESERTO: I don't know what I would say to my mom. I just wish she would have listened to me. I just wish people would have been smarter.
JENNIFER PREZIOSO: If there was one thing to say to him, it would just be like, OK, so I should go back, right, and be like, when should I go back? Because, yeah, everything else had already been said between us.
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SAM ADEWUMI: Just that I loved him.
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