Flags ordered to fly at half-staff this week in Virginia to honor those lost to COVID-19

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered flags across the Commonwealth to fly at half-staff for the rest of the week to honor the memory of the more than 500,000 Americans that have died from COVID-19.

In just one year, the country has lost half a million of its own, as the country surpassed that unthinkable mark on Monday.

Data from the Virginia Department of Health reported that through Monday, more than 7,400 have lost their lives from the virus, including 682 Southwest Virginia residents.