The United State is on the brink of a truly terrible milestone.

The number of coronavirus deaths our country is nearing 500,000 people over the past year, an unthinkable and horrible number.

We at The Daily Eastern News are choosing not to focus on the reasons why this many people have died, or what was done or not done that led to this number.

Instead we want to try to put this terrible loss in perspective so that we never forget just how many lives were lost.

As of Sunday night, there have been 92 deaths recorded in Coles County. This number may sound low, but it means that approximately one out of every 550 people in Coles County had died from COVID-19.

Nationwide, this number is about one out of every 660 people.

Coles County’s 92 deaths only represent just .02 percent of the total deaths in the United States.

The total number of U.S. deaths is more than the population of Kansas City, Missouri, the 38th-largest city in the country by population.

It is also nearly as many deaths as the U.S. military suffered in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined.

The COVID deaths in the United States account for over 20 percent of the deaths worldwide despite the U.S. only representing just over 4 percent of the world population.

All over the country, there are millions of people mourning loved ones, some of which died as long as a year ago.

This loss is a staggering loss of life that will be felt for generations to come.