NYC Parks May Be Used as Temporary Burial Locations for People Who Die From Coronavirus

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to take hold in New York City health officials might have to prepare for a "gruesome reality."

On Monday, New York City Council Health Committee chair Mark Levine revealed that the growing number of bodies that have died due to COVID-19 is leading to the freezer at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Manhattan and Brooklyn inching toward their capacity. If they can no longer hold bodies, the city may start using public parks as "temporary internment" sites.

"Soon we'll start 'temporary internment'. This likely will be done by using a NYC park for burials (yes you read that right). Trenches will be dug for 10 caskets in a line," Levine tweeted. "It will be done in a dignified, orderly--and temporary--manner. But it will be tough for NYers to take."

Read the rest of his thread, below.

With the United States becoming the country with the most reported cases of coronavirus, New York is now considered the virus' epicenter. As of Monday, 4,758 people have died due to complications with the virus and there are 130,689 confirmed cases (72,181 in New York City). The New York Times claims that 599 people died of the virus heading into Monday. Although this number is staggering, Gov. Andrew Cuomo claims that it is a lower spike than the increases recorded during previous days.

Per Levine, if this trend continues and the curve flattens then New York City won't have to resort to temporary internment.

"This tweet has gotten a lot of attention," Levine said in a quote tweet. "So I want to clarify: the is a contingency NYC is preparing for BUT if the death rate drops enough it will not be necessary."