National Cathedral bell to toll 700 times to mark 700K COVID-19 deaths

The National Cathedral on Thursday will toll its bell 700 times to mark the 700,000 people who have died from COVID-19 in the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, The Washington Post reported.

Cathedral officials told the Post that the Bourdon bell will toll 700 times.

The tolling of the bell, which will be livestreamed, is expected to last for 70 minutes, according to the Post.

This comes as much of the U.S. continues to deal with the latest wave of COVID-19 infections as the highly contagious delta variant is ,hitting the unvaccinated hard. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, 76 percent of Americans have received one dose of the COVID-19  vaccine with 65 percent being fully vaccinated. 

The National Cathedral also tolled its bell 600 times within an hour in June to honor the 600,000 people who died from the virus, the Post noted.