President Joe Biden mourned 'the painful milestone' of 700,000 American deaths from COVID-19, a day after the U.S. surpassed that mark on Friday.
That figure is more than the number of Americans who died during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined
To put the figure into context, it is about equivalent to the populations of Nashville, Tennessee or Washington, DC, and just a bit smaller than the population of Denver, Colorado.
'The astonishing death toll is yet another reminder of just how important it is to get vaccinated' he wrote in the Saturday release. 'The vaccines are safe, free, and easy—and we have made extraordinary progress in our fight against COVID-19.'
Biden said that three-fourths of Americans have gotten at least their first vaccine dose, including 94 percent of seniors.
He wrote: 'Hundreds of thousands of families have been spared the unbearable loss that many Americans have already endured during this pandemic.'
'If you haven´t already, please get vaccinated,' he said. 'It can save your life and the lives of those you love. It will help us beat COVID-19 and move forward, together, as one nation.'
President Joe Biden mourned 'the painful milestone' of 700,000 American deaths from COVID-19on Saturday, a day after the U.S. surpassed that mark on Friday. Here, he is pictured today at the Delaware Air National Guard Based in New Castle
More than 4.7 million people have died from COVID-19 around the world, according to Johns Hopkins, which means the U.S. accounts for 14.8 percent of all deaths, but just five percent of the global population.
The figures come three-and-a-half months after America recorded 600,000 lives lost due to the virus.
Coronavirus cases continue to fall in America to the lowest levels seen in more than a month and, although deaths are on the rise, they are expected to also decline over the next few weeks.
Although the first deaths from the virus in the U.S. weren't reported until February 2020, it was confirmed last month that the earliest death actually took place on January 9, 2020.
It took until May 2020 to reach the first 100,000 dead. The toll hit 200,000 deaths in September and 300,000 in December.
On Friday, the U.S. surpassed 700,000 coronavirus deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Pictured: Pictured: Caskets are seen with full of COVID-19 dead bodies at the Gerard J. Neufeld funeral home in Queens, New
