The Washington National Cathedral rang its bell 900 times on Monday in a somber tribute to 900,000 U.S. residents who’ve died of COVID-19. At the Capitol, members of Congress held a moment of silence and candlelight vigil to mark the occasion. The U.S. has a far higher per capita death rate from COVID-19 than other wealthy nations — even though vaccines have been widely available to most U.S. residents for months.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of Democratic governors have announced plans to roll back public health measures. California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon said they would end statewide mask mandates — but would allow municipal governments and school boards to require masking. This is New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.

Gov. Phil Murphy: “We’re not going to manage COVID to zero. We have to learn how to live with COVID as we move from a pandemic to the endemic phase of this virus.”