In New York, hundreds of Covid-19 deaths have been stored for more than a year in trucks

Reading time: 2 min – Spotted on The Independent

As New York City gradually recovers from the various waves of Covid-19 it has had to face, sad news reminds us how deadly the virus has been there. About 750 bodies of victims of the virus dating from the spring of 2020 are still stored in refrigerated trucks in the Brooklyn port area. It has therefore been twelve months since nearly forty trucks and their funeral contents have not moved.

You have to go back to April of last year to understand the situation. At that time, New York State was overwhelmed by Covid-19 and had nearly 1,000 daily deaths from the virus. Forensic scientists, equipped to treat about twenty bodies a day, then found themselves with nearly 200 corpses every day, specifies The Independent. Faced with this incessant influx of victims, the city had resigned itself to using refrigerated trucks to store the bodies until the hospitals and morgues were no longer under pressure.

Indignation

A year later, the remaining bodies should be moved shortly, adds the British media. Most of them should be brought to Hart Island, an island on the shores of the Bronx, known to be the largest mass grave in the United States.

This information concerning the remains of the victims of Covid-19, revealed a few days ago during a city council, has also aroused indignation. In particular, an advisor compared the management of these corpses to the treatment of found objects, reports RFI.

Today, New York is rising from its ashes, after being severely hit by the pandemic last spring and winter. The state now has nearly 1,600 new daily infections, a figure that is constantly decreasing, while about 60% of its 20 million inhabitants have already received at least one dose of vaccine, according to official figures. In order not to slow down, the city is now trying to convince the most reluctant and will soon offer free vaccinations in the metro.

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