CNN: For the First Time Since 9/11, NYC Sets Up Makeshift Morgues

Refrigerated trailers to be used as makeshift morgues hummed outside two hospitals on Thursday as New York City deals with the surging death count in the epicenter of the nation's coronavirus pandemic, CNN reports.

"The last time New York took such drastic measures was after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when the city medical examiner's office was tasked with identifying tens of thousands of body parts from the 2,753 people killed in the World Trade Center collapse," reads the article written by Brynn Gingras, Mark Morales and Ray Sanchez. 

The authors of the publication claim that makeshift morgues signal the historic challenge posed by the national health crisis.
Trailers and white tents were also set up outside the New York Bellevue Hospital Center, which is adjacent to the medical examiner's building.
"We're in a public health crisis, and the city has declared a state of emergency," the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) said in a statement.
"As part of that declaration, agencies like OCME have enacted emergency contingency plans to help prepare for every possible outcome."
In addition, a few days ago, the US Navy Hospital Ship appeared in New York Harbor, providing the city with extra beds. The ship will be able to accommodate over 1,000 patients. There are two such ships in the US Navy, each costing $100 million.
The last time New York used this ship was during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 
The US death toll from coronavirus has topped 1,100.
There are more than 52,000 coronavirus cases in New York. The state has about half of the total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the entire US.
 
Authors: Brynn Gingras, Mark Morales, Ray Sanchez
Source: CNN 
 
29 March 2020 13:18