In New York, hundreds of Covid victims have been stored for more than a year in refrigerated trucks

At the height of the first wave of the Coronavirus, when New York City was littered with dead bodies, it chose to use refrigerated trucks as makeshift morgues. But a year later, some of the trucks are still there. In Brooklyn, cars still contain 750 people who have died from Covid. Since last spring, they have been waiting to be buried with dignity.

“Why do we still have these temporary facilities?” Marc Gunnag, a Democrat on the city council, protested. He asked, “If the families have already expressed a desire to bury their dead in a certain place, then why delay that for too long?”

If, at the time, the use of these trucks to deal with excess deaths was understandable. Today, it is difficult to admit that they are still there.

Where did they bury them?

At a recent meeting, the authorities pledged that they would do everything possible to quickly reduce the body count. But it is still very slow. Yet according to CityFamilies have already expressed their desires in relation to their deceased loved ones. Most decided to bury them on Hart Island, the largest mass grave in the United States, while the other party simply did not follow up on the authorities’ requests to contact. In other words, the victims will likely all end up on Hart Island. As shown The IndependentThis place, off the Bronx, has long been the burial place of the dead and the poor in town. “However, we will continue to work with the families,” said Dina Maniotis, deputy commissioner of the forensic office.

According to analyzes, 2,334 adults were cremated on Hart Island in 2020, double what was cremated in 2019.

Put an end to trucks

Images of refrigerated trucks parked in front of hospitals at the height of the crisis have had a profound impact on New Yorkers and the rest of the world. Without them, the city would not have been able to support hospitals and mortuaries, which were completely overwhelmed by the number of bodies to be administered.

“These trucks were intended to ensure that families can bury their loved ones as they see fit,” said a spokesperson for the medical examiner office. Today, however, it has become the scars of a crisis that everyone wants to forget. Especially since the city is doing better today. COVID-19 pollution and deaths continue to decline. With its convenient positionNew York City recently organized vaccination campaigns for tourists.