New York. On Hart Island, off the New York borough of the Bronx, workers in protective suits have started digging a mass grave. Drone recordings show how several coffins are stacked on top of each other in a wide pit and covered with earth.
Corona dead are buried on the island
Hart Island has been used for decades for the deceased whose relatives are unknown or whose families cannot fund a funeral. More than 68,900 people have been buried in mass graves on the island since 1980.
“We will continue to use the island in this way during the corona crisis, and it is likely that people who have died from the coronavirus will be buried on the island in the coming days,” said Freddi Goldstein, spokeswoman for the New Yorker Mayor Bill de Blasio, opposite “The Post”.
Temporary burial of the corona dead
Mayor de Blasio himself announced earlier this week that the city was considering a temporary burial of the corona dead on Hart Island, but shied away from making a firm commitment.
Typically around 25 people would be buried on Hart Island every week, Goldstein said. However, since the spread of the corona virus every day 25 Burying people on the island – five days a week. Several US media also report that a refrigerator truck has already been spotted on the island. Corona deaths were most recently removed in the vans.
More than 5100 infected people in New York City
According to the Johns Hopkins University, more than 466,200 people (as of April 10, 7 a.m.) have been infected with the corona virus in the USA. In New York City alone, more than 5100 people have died from the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen.
The high number of deaths also has consequences for the local morgues: The New York bureau for medical examinations announced that corpses will only be stored for 14 days before they – if not used – will be removed for burial.
