Report: State orders 5,000 body bags and 60 refrigerated trucks for bodies as COVID surges
–ABC News reports–
State activates coroners’ mutual aid and mass fatality management plan
–California ordered 5,000 more body bags and has 60 refrigerated trucks on standby as the state experiences its “most intense” COVID-19 surge to date, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
The state reported 32,326 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, amid “historically high” case numbers, the governor said. Its 14-day average positivity rate is 10.7-percent – the highest it’s been since the beginning of the pandemic. Two weeks ago, that rate was 6.9-percent.
There were 142 new deaths reported on Tuesday, with the seven-day average at 163 per day as of Monday. That number was 41 a month ago.
Amid the surge in deaths, the state has distributed newly purchased body bags to San Diego, Los Angeles and Inyo counties, and has dozens of 53-foot refrigerated storage units on standby in counties and at hospitals, he said. California is also activating its coroner mutual aid and mass fatality program, Newsom said, to coordinate the response of coroners and morgues.
- Read the full story at ABC News
- See Gov. Newsom’s report on Yahoo News
- San Luis Obispo County breaks record for active cases