COVID-19 body backlog forces California air quality agency to suspend cremation limits



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Lack of storage space for those who have died coronavirus forced the agency that regulates air quality across Southland to issue an emergency order on Sunday night lifting the limit on the number of burns allowed. The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued an emergency order temporarily suspending licensing requirements for crematoriums.

CBS Los Angeles reports that the order was issued at the request of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office and the LA County Department of Public Health.

The Air Quality Management District limits the number of cremations that can be performed each month due to air quality regulations. However, the pandemic has more than doubled the death rate in the region, putting a strain on hospitals, funeral homes and crematoriums, the agency reported.

As of January 15, more than 2,700 bodies were in storage in hospitals and at the coroner’s office, according to the order. “Mobile morgues” have already been set up outside Los Angeles County hospitals, where one person dies from the coronavirus every eight minutes, the county said last week. Twitter.

Viral epidemic in California
This Jan. 12, 2021 photo provided by the LA County Medical Examiner’s Department shows members of the National Guard helping to treat deaths from COVID-19 and place them in temporary storage at the medical examiner’s office. LA County Coroner in Los Angeles.

AP


“The current death rate is more than double that of pre-pandemic years, leading to hospitals, funeral homes and crematoriums exceeding capacity without the capacity to deal with the backlog of cases,” AQMD said on Sunday. in a press release. The LA County Medical Examining Coroner and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have asked South Coast AQMD to suspend cremation limits in order to protect public health and respond to the current emergency. “

The order will be in effect for at least 10 days.

As of Sunday, LA County has reported 1,014,662 coronavirus cases and 13,848 deaths from the disease. According to the latest state figures on Monday, 7,328 people are hospitalized for the coronavirus in LA County. Of which 23% are in intensive care unit beds.



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