Biden Issues Statement to Mark 700,000 Coronavirus Deaths Before Golf

President Joe Biden issued a statement Saturday in reaction to the milestone of 700,000 coronavirus deaths before leaving for a round of golf.

“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,” Biden wrote in a statement sent to reporters just minutes before he left his home for the golf club.

The president’s statement was under 200 words, urging Americans not to forget those who lost their lives to the virus.

“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,” he continued.

He also urged Americans to get vaccinated, boasting the country made “extraordinary progress” in the fight against the coronavirus because of the vaccines.

“Hundreds of thousands of families have been spared the unbearable loss that too many Americans have already endured during this pandemic,” he wrote.

Biden then left for the Fieldstone Golf Club for a round of golf with his White House councilor Steve Ricchetti and Ron Olivere, the father-in-law of Biden’s late son Beau Biden.

The president’s approach to the latest death count was sharply different than his approach to the 500,000 death count in February after he was inaugurated.

In February, Biden delivered a major speech as he tried to take a more solemn tone about the pandemic than former President Donald Trump.

But he also tried to offer hope to those who felt the pandemic would never end.

“This nation will smile again. This nation will know sunny days again. This nation will know joy again,” Biden said in February, holding a moment of silence outside the White House surrounded by candles.

Seven months later Biden is still struggling to contain the pandemic as the Delta variant of the virus continues ravaging the country.