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They had 'dreams and plans': Detroit honors COVID-19 victims

In Detroit, more than 1,500 people have died.

Credit: AP

A procession of vehicles drive past photos of Detroit victims of COVID-19, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 on Belle Isle in Detroit. Families have a chance to take one last public look at their lost loved ones in the nation's first citywide memorial to honor victims of the pandemic. Mourners will join 14 consecutive funeral processions to drive past nearly 900 large poster-sized photos of their loved ones staked around the island. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT — The city of Detroit has turned an island park into an extraordinary memorial garden for victims of COVID-19.

Cars packed with families Monday passed hundreds of photos of Detroit residents who died from the virus.

Hearses are leading solemn all-day processions around Belle Isle Park in the Detroit River after bells rang across the region at 8:45 a.m.

More than 900 photos submitted by families are displayed on large posters around Belle Isle, revealing the crushing breadth of the virus.

In Detroit, more than 1,500 people have died. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the victims had “dreams and plans and a story.”

Detroit honors COVID-19 victims with public park memorial

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AP

A procession of vehicles drive past photos of Detroit victims of COVID-19, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 on Belle Isle in Detroit. Families have a chance to take one last public look at their lost loved ones in the nation's first citywide memorial to honor victims of the pandemic. Mourners will join 14 consecutive funeral processions to drive past nearly 900 large poster-sized photos of their loved ones staked around the island. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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