Pelosi leads moment of silence for COVID-19 dead

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a moment of silence on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to remember the more than 900,000 American lives lost due to COVID-19.

Pelosi was joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and a bipartisan gathering of House and Senate lawmakers for the observance. The U.S. Army Chorus performed "Shall We Gather at the River" and "God Bless America."

Deaths due to COVID-19 are still running high at more than 2,400 per day on average, the most since last winter. Nationwide, new COVID-19 cases per day have plunged by more than a half-million since mid-January.

Cases have been declining in 47 states over the past two weeks. Also, the number of Americans in the hospital with COVID-19 has fallen 24% since mid-January to about 111,000.