U.S. President Joe Biden has mourned the about 700,000 Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19, the highest in the world for any individual country.

Mr Biden, in his Twitter handle on Saturday night, said, “Today, we mark another grim and heartbreaking milestone in this pandemic: over 700,000 Americans lost.

“As we acknowledge the tragic scale of this death toll, we must remember each person and the life they lived.”

The White House, also in a statement, described the 700,000 deaths to COVID-19 as a “painful milestone”.

“To heal, we must remember, and as our nation mourns the painful milestone of 700,000 American deaths due to COVID-19, we must not become numb to the sorrow.

“On this day, and every day, we remember all those we have lost to this pandemic and we pray for their loved ones left behind who are missing a piece of their soul.

“As we do, the astonishing death toll is yet another reminder of just how important it is to get vaccinated.

“The vaccines are safe, free, and easy – and we have made extraordinary progress in our fight against COVID-19 over the last eight months because of the vaccines,” he said.

(NAN)