In American Texas, improvised morgues in the form of refrigerated trucks began to be used to store corpses. Such refrigeration units were used for this purpose after the number of cases of COVID-19 in the state exceeded 1.1 million, writes Metro.
According to the newspaper, last week the death toll in Texas exceeded 20 thousand, and the overcrowded morgue of El Paso County turned to the sheriff’s office for help. However, despite the situation with coronavirus infection, the state authorities have not yet raised the issue of introducing any restrictive measures.
Greg Abbott, Texas Gov. Republican, instead made it clear that there was not much time left to wait for the vaccine. It is noted that the real number of infected residents of the state may exceed official figures, since many Americans have not taken the COVID-19 test.
According to WSLS-TV, due to the large number of deaths, prisoners from local pre-trial detention centers were sent to help morgue officers. At the same time, according to the sheriff’s press secretary, the suspects refused to work for free and now receive two dollars an hour, although they are not supposed to pay.
One of the employees of hospitals, Lawanna Rivers, on November 7, in an appeal to Facebook subscribers, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, she visited various hospitals, including in New York. According to her, the worst impression left on her was the University Medical Center El Paso, where the most seriously ill patients were allegedly placed in a separate place, which was nicknamed “the pit.” “On my first day, I was told that no matter what patients are in the ‘pit’, they can get back only in a body bag,” – quotes the nurse Business Insider.
On November 11, it was reported that Texas became the first American state where During the coronavirus pandemic, more than a million cases of infection were recorded. Next come the states of California and Florida.
The same refrigerated trucks for the removal of bodies of the dead from COVID-19 and trailers with refrigeration units were first spotted in New York at the end of March. Officials then assumed that the situation could worsen, and there would not be enough space in additional morgues under construction. It was noted that such measures were last taken after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.