New York City Considers Temporarily Burying People on Public Land

New York City officials are beginning to map out plans to bury victims of the coronavirus on public land as a temporary fix for overhwlemed funeral homes.

The plans were first reported by The New York Times, which quoted Mayor Bill de Blasio as he acknowledged that the city may have to consider temporary burials.

Some city morgues are already past capacity and the number of deaths in the city is expected to continue to rise over the next few weeks.

“If we need to do temporary burials to be able to tide us over to pass the crisis, and then work with each family on their appropriate arrangements, we have the ability to do that,” he said, adding, “We may well be dealing with temporary burials so we can deal with each family later.”

After his comments, the mayor’s press secretary tried to clarify, “We are not currently planning to use local parks as burial grounds. We are exploring using Hart Island for temporary burials, if the need grows.”

New York City council member Mark Levine said the city was “prepared for the worst” but “continue to hope and pray the worst won’t come to past.”

He also acknowledged that the “normal system for handling the deceased is under strain.”

It may not be New York alone, either. Axios reported