NEW YORK (AP) — As New York City deals with a mounting coronavirus death toll, the city has shortened the amount of time it will hold unclaimed remains.
The medical examiner’s office says it will now keep bodies in storage for just 14 days before they’re buried in the city’s potter’s field on Hart Island.
Normally, about 25 bodies a week are interred on the island, mostly for people who go unclaimed by relatives or whose families can’t afford a funeral.
City officials say that in recent days, burial operations on the island have increased to five days a week, with around 24 burials each day.