The federal government is deploying refrigerated trucks to act as interim mortuaries as New York City grapples with hundreds of coronavirus deaths.
Thomas Von Essen, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s regional administrator, announced the move during a Monday press conference with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. He also said the military is providing 42 people to the Manhattan Medical Examiner’s Office to assist.
“We are sending refrigeration trucks to New York to help with some of the problem on a temporary basis,” Von Essen said.
The announcement came the same day the Naval hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived at the city to help with healthcare capacity. New York City has had more than 36,000 cases of COVID-19 and almost 800 deaths. De Blasio warned on Monday that the worst is yet to come.
“To date, I still fear the worst is not going to be April but actually the beginning of May,” the mayor said. “I guarantee you that April is going to be exceedingly tough, and we have to understand that any projection of things being all OK by Easter, there’s just no way that’s true for New York City.”
Also on Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked for help from medical professionals in other states as his state attempts to manage tens of thousands of coronavirus infections.
