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Los Angeles County officials have temporarily lifted environmental limits on the number of cremations allowed to deal with the growing backlog of deaths from COVID-19.
Licenses for crematoriums contain limits on the number of human remains that can be cremated each month “based on potential impacts on air quality,” the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) said on Sunday in a report. Press release. But due to the coronavirus, the current death rate in the region is double what it was before the pandemic, leading to a large backlog of bodies in hospitals, funeral homes and crematoriums.
Following requests from the county coroner and the health department, the AQMD issued an order suspending the limits of cremations.
According to the order, as of Jan. 15, more than 2,700 bodies were stored in hospitals and the coroner’s office, and the 28 county crematoria have the resources to perform more cremations without regulatory limits.
The latest wave of the virus has been devastating in the Los Angeles area. AT Dated, more than one million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to LA Public Health, and nearly 14,000 people have died.
Earlier this month, hospitals in Los Angeles were dangerously short of oxygen and other supplies, with some critically ill patients having to wait up to eight hours in ambulances before entering emergency rooms.
The cremation order is in effect for 10 days but can be extended because, according to the order, the coroner “expects another wave to approach following the New Year holidays as deaths tend to occur. 4 to 6 weeks after the gatherings, and
the capacity of the deceased’s management system, including hospitals, funeral homes, crematoria and the coroner’s office is overwhelmed. “
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