Refrigerated trailers are seen parked at the site of a makeshift morgue being built in New York, Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
New York City could start burying its dead in city parks if the mortality rate from coronavirus doesn’t decline soon, according to City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine.
“Soon we'll start ‘temporary interment’. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line,” Levine tweeted on Monday, adding that “it will be tough for NYers to take.”
Just as the number of COVID-19 infections has overwhelmed New York City hospitals, the number of deaths has begun to overwhelm the death care infrastructure, including the city’s system of morgues and now, it would seem, cemeteries. To supplement existing city- and hospital-owned morgues, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) purchased 45 refrigerated trucks to act as temporary morgues on top of 85 supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). According to Levine, most of those temporary morgues are now full and families with loved ones who have passed away due to COVID-19 are struggling to find funeral homes and cemeteries that will handle their deceased.
“Grieving families report calling as many as half a dozen funeral homes and finding none that can handle their deceased loved ones. Cemeteries are not able to handle the number of burial requests and are turning most down,” he wrote.
The councilmember’s comments attracted quite a bit of attention on Monday, earning more than 1,500 retweets and 1,800 likes, prompting Levine to clarify his earlier claims. In a later tweet, he called interment in city parks a “contingency” that wouldn’t be necessary if the death rate drops enough.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio told the New York Times that although the city has the ability to temporarily bury the dead if needed, the city was “not at the point that we’re going to go into that.” Cuomo pleaded ignorance of the plan altogether, saying that he’d heard “a lot of wild rumors,” but never anything about burials in city parks, according to the Times.
Aja Worthy-Davis, an OCME spokesperson, said the city is only conducting city burials at Hart Island in the Bronx for now.
Reports out of overwhelmed countries like Italy and Ecuador detail coffins awaiting burial in churches and on streets, and horror stories of families living with deceased loved ones, sometimes for days, because of an overwhelmed death care system.
“The goal is to avoid scenes like those in Italy, where the military was forced to collect bodies from churches and even off the streets,” Levine wrote on Monday.
Lisa Mayer, Founder of My Social Canvas and Boss Beauties, joins ChedHER to discuss the significance of the Boss Beauties NFTs being displayed at the New York Stock Exchange, and how she hopes to empower the next generation of women in the NFT and crypto space.
Sonali Divilek, Head of Digital Products & Channels at Chase, joins ChedHER to discuss what consumers can learn from the Chase Challenge, and easy ways that people can tidy up their finances this holiday season.
If you're planning to host Thanksgiving dinner this year, be prepared to shell out more cash for your bird. Kristin Myers, Editor-in-Chief at The Balance, joined Cheddar to talk about the rising cost of food due to a number of factors like drought, inflation, and supply chain issues. She noted that families can expect to pay 21 percent more for their holiday meal compared to last year.
Jill and Carlo are back to cover the latest in the Rittenhouse trial, new information on the origins of Covid, return-to-office and more.
JOIN US FOR THE YOUTUBE WATCH PARTY @ 9aET: http://www.youtube.com/cheddarnow
Roundhill Investments is investing in the metaverse, and it wants consumers to as well. The firm launched a metaverse exchange-trade fund called Meta back in June - the first ETF in the U.S. targeting investments in the next era of the internet. The fund's launch came months before the company formerly known as Facebook changed its name to Meta Platforms. Since the launch of Roundhill Investments' Meta ETF, it has grown significantly, reaching $500 million in assets. Roundhill Investments Vice President Mario Stefanidis joined Cheddar News to discuss.
At the turn of the century, a group of female pop stars, actors, influencers began to dominate Hollywood in every conversation in the entertainment industry, whether it was Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, we watched their lives unfold in real-time, seemingly right in front of our eyes. But perhaps the most glaring example of the misogyny these women face came in 2004 when Justin Timberlake tugged at Janet Jackson's booster in the closing seconds of the Super Bowl 38 halftime show. Now 20 years later, that moment in history is being re-examined. Senior Reporter at Vox Constance Grady, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Cognitive healthcare platform BrainCheck recently raised $10 million in a Series B round. The platform offers neurologists a new way to detect and care for brain disorders like Alzeheimer's, and brain injuries like concussions. BrainCheck CEO Yael Katz joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
'General Hospital' actor and activist Cassandra James joins Cheddar News to talk about recent transphobic comments made by her co-star Ingo Rademacher. She also discusses trans rights and the importance of having fair and accurate stories of trans lives portrayed in the media.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Ice Barrel CEO breaks down the physical and mental health benefits to cold therapy training; Dishcraft CEO explains how its robotics is transforming the role of a dishwasher in restaurant kitchens; A look at Curiosity Stream's original series 'The Year That Rocked The World.'
