Candlelight Vigil Honouring Those Lost to COVID-19

On Thursday, March 11th, PARO will join with 20 other healthcare organizations and professional associations in the province as part of a candlelight vigil to honour the memory of all those who have died from COVID-19. 

March 11th marks the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic. It’s a sombre anniversary – the virus has claimed over 7,050 lives in Ontario alone. This vigil is also intended as an opportunity to reflect on the impact COVID-19 has had on healthcare workers, and recognize their efforts. As resident doctors working tirelessly on the frontlines, our members have demonstrated our selflessness and dedication to Ontario’s patients over the past year. 

We invite you to join in remembering the lives lost, honouring the incredible efforts of healthcare workers, and looking forward together to a new post-pandemic reality.

There are three ways you can participate: 

1) Step out onto your balcony, porch or driveway and light a candle at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

2) Participate online with the image of a lit candle and the hashtags #Candle4COVID and #TogetherWeCanDoIt all day on Thursday, March 11, 2021.

3) At 6:45pm, Canada’s parliamentary poet laureate Louise Bernice Halfe will join a zoom event hosted by RNAO to read a poem to mark the pandemic. The event – open to all – will take place at 6:45 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, March 11, 2021. Following the reading, participants are invited to turn on their cameras on Zoom and light a candle.

Those who are interesting in joining can use the Zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84799488976  Passcode: 007272

You can share your tribute on social media using the hashtags #Candle4COVID and #TogetherWeCanDoIt.