This week, two counties in Oregon required the use of refrigerated trucks to store the bodies of deceased coronavirus patients. As the death toll from COVID-19 rises, more and more local governments need additional resources.
According to the Associated Press, the Oregon Emergency Management Office said on Saturday that Tillamook County on the northwest coast of the state and Josephine County in the southwest require trucks.
In Tillamook County, officials stated that the spread of COVID-19 has reached a terrible stage, and the county’s only funeral home “has been at or exceeded its capacity for nine corpses”.
“The increase in the number of COVID deaths in Tillamook County has put pressure on our ability to store the bodies of the dead. Ward’s funeral home is allowed to accommodate 9 people; Ward’s funeral home has been at full capacity since late last week. Due to the increase in COVID mortality and more deaths are expected, we have ordered a refrigerated morgue from the state,” the Tillamook County Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.
The committee stated that in the past two weeks, the county has reported more new positive cases than in the first 10 months of the pandemic due to the delta variant spreading among unvaccinated community members. In the past week, the number of COVID deaths in the county has more than doubled, from 5 to 11 people.
“The spread of the new crown virus in Tillamook County has reached a critical stage. From August 18 to August 23, 2021, we have 6 new COVID deaths. This is a tragic death of six people in six days. We feel sad for our friends, neighbors and their families. We are very sorry for your loss,” the board added.
Meanwhile, in Josephine County, Emily Lin, the emergency manager, asked the state on Tuesday to provide a refrigerated trailer that can hold “20-48 corpses.” According to the Associated Press, Lin said that the county hospital has exceeded its daily corpse storage capacity, and five funeral homes and three crematoriums are “on the verge of crisis capacity every day.”
Hospital staff in the county seat of Grants Pass told the news media that Josephine County was “in a comprehensive medical crisis.” According to data from the Oregon Department of Health, the vaccination rate in Josephine County is only 53%, and the vast majority of COVID-19 patients in hospitals and intensive care units are not vaccinated.
Since July, the number of coronavirus hospitalizations in Oregon has increased by 990%. New York Times Report. Earlier this week, the state joined the ranks of Florida, Arkansas and Louisiana. More people are hospitalized due to COVID than ever before Since the beginning of the epidemic.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown has since deployed approximately 1,500 National Guards to hospitals across the state. Starting Friday, Brown requires everyone, regardless of whether they are vaccinated, to wear masks when gathering closely in public places, indoors and outdoors.
Patrick Allen, the director of the Oregon Department of Health, said this week that the situation was “terrible” and he urged people who have not been vaccinated to avoid any unnecessary activities. “It’s that simple. It’s that urgent,” he said, according to era.
Justin Hamel/AFP/Getty Images
Oregon is not the only state battling the rising number of COVID deaths. Last week, Texas asked the federal government to provide five morgue trailers to prepare for more deceased patients.
State Department of Health Services spokesperson Doug Loveday said in a statement: “As the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations continues to increase, we anticipate the need for these trailers in Texas.” National Broadcasting Corporation information. These trucks will be stationed in San Antonio and transported across the state at the request of local officials.
In central Florida, hospitals have also been forced to order mobile morgues to help deal with the excessive number of COVID-19 deaths. This week, Advent Health had to order 14 portable morgues to help make room for another 168 bodies.
“We have a strong emergency management plan, which allows us to continue to care for our community during this surge through careful planning and preventive measures,” Advent Health Said in a statement Weekly newspaper on Friday. “With the surge in critically ill patients in our hospital, we are cautiously preparing for the increase in death toll and investing resources to provide additional capacity when necessary.”
