Group sets up display of shoes in Des Moines to visualize human toll of COVID-19

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) - A central Iowa group set up a display in front of a public school building in Des Moines on Saturday to try and make the death toll in Iowa from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic more tangible.

According to television station KCCI, Each Pair Iowa, along with cooperation with Des Moines Public Schools, set up a display of pairs of shoes in front of Central Academy. The pairs of shoes were intended to each represent a life lost from COVID-19 in the state.

The shoes were donated to the group, some of them from families of victims of the disease. The intention, according to organizers, is to raise awareness and encourage Iowans to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19.

The group will donate the pairs of shoes to those in need. Each Pair Iowa also took donations of health safety supplies, like masks or hand sanitizer, to give to teachers in the Des Moines school district ahead of students returning for classes in the fall.

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