NYC Dead Stay in Freezer Trucks Set Up During Spring Covid-19 Surge

[left-of-center2012]

Hundreds of bodies are still in storage at pandemic disaster morgue on Brooklyn waterfront The bodies of hundreds of people who died in New York City during the Covid-19 surge in the spring are still in storage in freezer trucks on the Brooklyn waterfront. Many of the bodies are of people whose families can’t be located or can’t afford a proper burial, according to the city’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner. About 650 bodies are being stored in the trucks at a disaster morgue that was set up in April on the 39th Street Pier in Sunset Park.

Before the pandemic, most if not all of the deceased would have been buried within a few weeks in a gravesite for the indigent on Hart Island, which is located in the Long Island Sound near the Bronx. But Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged in April that mass burials wouldn’t take place following reports that New York City was considering the use of temporary graves on Hart Island.

Officials at the chief medical examiner’s office said they are having trouble tracking down relatives of about 230 deceased people. In cases like these, a spokeswoman said, it isn’t uncommon for the deceased to have been estranged from families and for next-of-kin details to be dated or incorrect. When next of kin have been contacted, officials said most bodies haven’t been collected because of financial reasons.

The chief medical examiner’s office usually identifies a body with the help of a family member or through documentation, fingerprints, medical and dental records or DNA. In other cases, investigators reach out to city agencies or the police to check records. In several cases during the pandemic, Ms. Naka said, investigators realized next of kin weren’t answering the phone because they too had died.

Ms. Maniotis said the city is slowly reducing the number of bodies in storage. Between mid-September and mid-November the number of bodies decreased to 650 from 698. The spokeswoman for the chief medical examiner’s office said the long-term storage facility would remain in operation at least until the pandemic is declared over.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nyc-dead-stay-in-freezer-trucks-set-up-during-spring-covid-19-surge-11606050000

[blueinredohio]

1. That's so sad.

[Ananda62]

2. This is terrible

It’s horrible that these people died alone and unclaimed. I suspect this same scenario will occur in some of our larger US cities this winter (where many folks live alone and/or miles away from family). 😢

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. FU Trump