As the coronavirus pandemic threatens more communities, funeral directors say they can’t keep up with the growing death toll that has already claimed more than 5,000 lives in the U.S.
“We’re suffering from a lack of [personal protective equipment] and disinfectant even though we’re handling bodies every day,” he said. “In terms of sheer volume, it’s becoming very overwhelming.”
When the virus first hit, Kemp couldn’t find Lysol or bleach. The products “became invisible,” he said. He eventually tracked down bleach through his fluid supplier and diluted some hydrogen peroxide to use as a disinfectant. Kemp continues to worry about what could happen if he runs out of supplies.In New York, which has the most confirmed coronavirus cases anywhere in the U.S., funeral directors say they can’t keep up with demand.
“We are experiencing double the call volume,” Amanda Vaphides of Cherubini McInerney Funeral Home on Staten Island toldThe extra hands are not enough, however. New York cemeteries are limiting the number of bodies they can accept each day, creating a bottleneck effect for funeral homes, Vaphides said. The backlog extends to hospitals. Doctors are unable to certify death certificates right away, which means hospitals cannot release remains to families.
“It is incredibly overwhelming for us and the families,” she said. “We of course do not want to prolong their grief.” Kemp said he worked with a family that could not move ahead with burial plans because the next of kin was also hospitalized with COVID-19. In another case, loved ones could not access the required paperwork because county offices were closed and employees were working from home.Alicia Victoria Lozano is a Los Angeles-based digital reporter for NBC News.Jonathan Dienst is a reporter for WNBC-TV in New York, leading its investigative reporting team and covering justice and law enforcement issues.
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