About 900 bodies are currently being held at the Los Angeles Medical Examiner Coroner’s Office, which usually has a capacity of 500, according to spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani. She estimates that about 150 of the bodies overflowed from local hospitals that were left without rooms.
Since the initial peak of Covid-19 last spring, a dozen refrigerated storage units have been in place in the city center. A dozen more trailers will be installed next week, along with six refrigerated containers, Ardalani told CNN.
National Guard members have assisted the coroner’s office in transporting and storing bodies, but that is not enough. Ardalani said the office is working with the state to bring more aid.
The number of available ICU beds has also dropped to the lowest level on record, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. This is despite indications that hospitalizations are beginning to stabilize in the state.
There are currently 1,094 ICU beds available for California’s 40 million residents. More than 22,000 people are hospitalized with the virus, and nearly 5,000 of them are in intensive care units.
However, the rate of positivity in California is maintaining the downward trend seen in recent days and currently stands at 13.4%, compared to 14% last Friday, which marked the highest level seen since the beginning of the generalized tests.
About 90% of state residents are still under requests to stay at home, as projections show ICU capacity and other factors will remain at critical levels for at least the next four weeks.
But there is hope.
LA’s Dodger Stadium, which was a testing ground, will now become a center for mass vaccination. The administration of the vaccine at the stadium is scheduled to start Friday, with the capacity to vaccinate about 12,000 people a day, when everything is working, according to the website of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
“Vaccines are the safest way to defeat this virus and chart a path to recovery, so the city, the county and our entire team are putting our best resources into the field to vaccinate Angelenos as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible. “. Garcetti said.