Church bell tolls for every COVID death in U.S.

PATCHOGUE, N.Y. - Amidst the busy streets of the village, a faint bell rings from the Congregational Church of Patchogue. The bell tower is on the National Registry of Historic Places. And on this day, Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter said the sound has great significance. 

"Each bell is really literally for someone who is now dead from COVID in America," Wolter said. 

Forged in 1866, the bell began ringing on Oct. 18 and will go off once every six seconds until All Saints' Day on Nov. 1. 

"The bell will stop tolling at 218,000 on Sunday, Nov. 1, All Saints' Day, and the dying will continue," Wolter said. "You think about that."

Wolter said some people have taken to his Facebook page to complain about the bells ringing around the clock. 

"Some people are saying it's a partisan thing because it's so close to the election or it's going to disrupt people in the middle of the night but we turn the volume down," he said. 

But others we spoke with say it's an important reminder of the times we're going through. 

Wolter said this is the least he can do. 

"Let's remember, honor, commemorate the death and the loss," Wolter said. "And let's celebrate the life."