At US Capitol, 164 pairs of shoes represent nurses dead from COVID

WASHINGTON — A nurses’ union placed 164 sets of white shoes outside the US Capitol on Tuesday in a tribute to their colleagues killed by coronavirus, calling on the Senate to pass a huge aid package meant to help fight the pandemic.

National Nurses United (NNU) display 164 white clogs shoes outside the US Capitol to honor the more than 160 nurses who have lost their lives from COVID-19 in the United States, and to demand the Senate act swiftly to protect nurses on the frontlines in Washington, DC on July 21, 2020. Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP

“Two months ago my colleagues and I stood in front of the White House surrounded by 88 pairs of shoes, each representing a nurse who had died from COVID,” said Stephanie Simms, a Washington-based registered nurse.

“Today we have 164 pairs of shoes. They clearly show how this administration and this Congress has failed nurses who continue to die,” said Simms, from the over 150,000-strong National Nurses United (NNU), which organized the display at the Capitol.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the $3 trillion Heroes Act in mid-May.

However, the Republican-controlled Senate has blocked the measure, promising a new proposal.

The House bill would provide financial aid to households struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, help rescue the US economy and finance production of protective equipment for frontline workers.

The United States has recorded more than 141,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic amid some 3.86 million cases.