LA Struggles to Secure Morgue Space... US COVID-19 Epicenter

On the 12th (local time), the California National Guard and others are moving the bodies of COVID-19 victims at the LA County Coroner's Office. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] CNN reported on the 15th (local time) that Los Angeles (LA), which has recently emerged as the largest hotspot for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the United States, is struggling to secure morgue storage space.

According to CNN, the LA coroner's office currently holds about 900 bodies. Normally, the coroner's office has a capacity for 500 bodies, but last spring, due to the spread of COVID-19, it installed more than ten refrigerated storage units, increasing its capacity to 2,000 bodies.

However, the LA coroner's office plans to install more than ten trailers and six refrigerated containers by next week. The rapid increase in COVID-19 victims has led to a shortage of space to store bodies.

Additionally, the National Guard has been dispatched to assist with the transportation and storage of bodies at the coroner's office, but the office still faces a manpower shortage and has requested the state authorities to send more personnel.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccinations began at the LA Dodgers Stadium baseball park starting that day. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti stated, "Once fully operational, this stadium will be able to vaccinate 12,000 people per day." He added, "Vaccines are the most certain path to defeating this virus and paving the way to recovery."