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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Is Los Angeles County short of morgue and mortuary capacity amid a surge in COVID-19 deaths?

By Lisa Freedland
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YES

A surge in deaths from COVID-19 in Los Angeles has led authorities to take extraordinary measures as the region's funeral homes and morgues have reached capacity. “Hospitals are seeing delays of up to three days in getting the dead out of their crypts and into a mortuary,” the Los Angeles Times reported on Jan. 14.

A parking lot at the county coroner's office has become a temporary morgue, with at least ten 53-foot truck trailers outfitted to store as well as other refrigerated storage units. The state seeks to deal with any delays “with respect and dignity,” its head of emergency services said.

The county health department reported Jan. 11 that deaths had increased from 12 a day in early November to more than 200 daily reported deaths in the most recent week, terming the surge “the worst disaster our county has experienced in decades.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Los Angeles Times: Hospital morgues are overloaded
Governor's Office of Emergency Services: California prepares for COVID-19 casualties
Los Angeles County: Public health officials issue urgent plea as 10 people test positive every minute
Los Angeles County: Daily coronavirus data
Los Angeles Times: ‘A mass fatality event’—California struggles with backlog of bodies of COVID-19 victims
The Signal: Santa Clarita Valley mortuary struggling to keep up with demand
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.