NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – A New Jersey woman who lost her brother to COVID-19 is heading to Washington D.C., where she'll join other families to advocate for tougher coronavirus restrictions in a days-long event this week.
Rima Samman, of Belmar, is channeling her grief into action by joining survivors and family members in D.C. at “Covid Victims’ Families and Survivors Lobby Days,” an event that starts Monday and runs for three days.
Samman lost her 40-year-old brother, Rami Samman, to the virus while he was living in a long-term care facility. His death helped spark her advocacy, including a memorial at Belmar Beach remembering him and other COVID victims.
“If you had known by brother, you would know that he would want nothing more than to help any and everybody, so he would be very proud of me for taking the initiative to find ways to help people,” Samman said.
She said she also had COVID last March and is still feeling the effects.
“I have major hair loss. I use an inhaler. I never had to use an inhaler before in my entire life. I went from being able to walk eight miles a day to right now I can barely pull off two miles,” she said.
In D.C. on Monday, she’ll be pushing for tighter COVID restrictions and for there to be a national holiday honoring those who have died from the coronavirus.
“I really wish they would hear us and they would take the initiative to protect the rest of the Americans that have not been affected by it, so this way we can save more lives,” Samman said.
