Coronavirus Overwhelmed by Covid deaths, America’s largest cemetery refrigerates bodies and funerals take up to a month
Refrigerator trucks are seen at the biggest cemetery in North America as it struggles under a backlog of coronavirus-related burials, with the usual 5-7 day wait period after death now stretched to more than a month at Rose Hill Memorial Park and Mortuary, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in California, U.S., January 26, 2021. Picture taken January 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Blake
by: By Maria Morava and Scottie Andrew, CNN
Posted:
Jan 29, 2021 / 01:29 PM EST
WHITTIER, Calif. (CNN) Spanning 1,400 acres and eight venues, Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary is the biggest cemetery in North America.
Johanna Matamoros’s father and mother died one month apart in December and January. But with Los Angeles funeral homes pushed to the brink due to the Covid-19 catastrophe, she may have to wait two to three months to bury them. “I’m not able to grieve. It is so painful,” she told the Guardian. Matamoros’s 56-year-old father, Asmel, died of Covid in December in El Salvador, where he had traveled to say goodbye to his dying mother. Her mother,.
LA County families face funeral arrangement delays due to overwhelmed morgues, funeral homes
COVID-19 deaths taking toll on families, mortuaries
LOS ANGELES - Families in LA County are facing delays to plan funeral arrangements for deceased loved ones due to the influx of COVID-19 deaths and unrelated deaths that are overwhelming morgues and funeral homes.
As of January 15, more than 2,700 bodies were stored in hospitals and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
In preparation for the pandemic, the coroner s office installed refrigerated storage units in April of 2020. During normal operations, the coroner can store up to 500 bodies, and with the additional units, it can further hold 1,500 for a total of 2,000.
2021/01/20 10:38 LOS ANGELES (AP) Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda was memorialized during a private service at Dodger Stadium before his burial on Tuesday. Lasorda died Jan. 7 after a heart attack at age 93. His casket, covered with a huge assortment of blue and white flowers, was placed on the pitcher’s mound with a blue 2, signifying Lasorda’s jersey number, on the back of the mound. Lasorda’s wife of 70 years, Jo, attended in a wheelchair, along with their daughter, Laura. The mourners stood socially distanced around the mound. Former Dodgers catcher and Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia, retired player and major league manager Bobby Valentine, retired Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, retired player and coach Mickey Hatcher, former Dodgers pitcher Charlie Hough, and former NBA coach Mike Fratello were among the 10 pallbearers. Each wore jerseys with Lasorda s No. 2 on the back.