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Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021

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

Lisa Freedland, Gigafact
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.”

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