On Hart Island, the grim scene of workers wearing hazmat suits while burying the dead in a mass grave is a pitiful sight. All fatalities are victims of the coronavirus pandemic which is now dubbed as the new 9/11 or Pearl Harbor in America.
On the ground are caskets and body bags with name on it to differentiate them from all the coffins in the mass grave. Instead of the deceased loved ones and family, the only witness to the last rites are laborers.
Hart Island has always been a resting place for the dead or those without family or for anonymous corpses. New York has done this since the 19th century, and now the state is left with no choice but to do it again this 2020.
Pandemic victims are laid to rest in Hart Island
When New York became the center of the pandemic, about 25 dead people are laid to rest by daily. However, this number has increased which required the city to contract more workers.
"For social distancing and safety reasons, city-sentenced people in custody are not assisting in burials for the duration of the pandemic." DOC Press Secretary Jason Kersten said in an interview with DailyMail. "Contracted laborers are performing this important work under DOC supervision."
"Burial operations at the city cemetery remain uninterrupted and they continue to be supervised by DOC, which has been performing this solemn duty on Hart Island for over 150 years and will continue to do so until the jurisdiction of Hart Island moves to Parks in 2021," Kersten added.
The death toll of the COVID-19 epidemic in New York City is 4,260 people with an infection rate of over 80,000 cases. This is already one of the highest incidents of the epidemic, almost equal to Italy.
City officials were quiet whether the dead were to be placed in Hart Island
Last Thursday, an official statement said that burying all the COVID-19 patients at the city cemetery is the only way to deal with mountains of bodies and less morgue space as the crisis ensues.
A new rule is that the medical examiner's office will store the corpses for only 14-days. Later, the cadavers will be sent for a non-descript burial in Potter's field in Hart Island.
Because of bodies overflowing the morgues, not only inmates from Riker's Prison are working, but additional hiring of laborers is needed to help relieve the inmates swamped by too many dead.
If there were questions about cause of death, the DOC referred them all to the city's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Collating the cause of death of those in Potter's field
According to Aja Worthy-Davis, an OCME spokeswoman, all the deaths from the records will be collected but will take time to complete, though recent burials will include those killed by the coronavirus.
The DOC and the OCME added that Hart Island can be utilized for temporary interments. If the deaths cannot be handled by the city morgue, which is yet to be reached as stated by the DOC and OCME.
Press Secretary Kersten added that he hoped it would not reach that point, but he said they were prepared already.
The OCME has the capacity to keep 800-900 corpses in its buildings, and an extra capacity of 4,000 bodies in 40 freezer trucks, as mobile morgues.
As officials wrangle where the bodies go, more workers and inmates are in hazmat suits as they bury coffins, and Hart Island become the last resting place for the dead of New York City.
