As Detroit's Sinai-Grace Hospital surges with COVID-19 patients, the hospital has started using refrigerated trucks to store bodies as mortality rates increase in the community.
Brian Taylor, spokesman for the Detroit Medical Center, told Bridge Michigan that the coronavirus "has caused significantly greater than normal mortality rates in the Detroit community."
Taylor said the need to store bodies in refrigerated trucks comes from from funeral homes reaching their capacity.
"This has resulted in capacity issues at funeral homes and morgues outside of Sinai-Grace Hospital," Taylor told Bridge Michigan. "Patients who pass away at our hospital are treated with respect and dignity, remaining on-site until they can be appropriately released."
Other hospitals in the Detroit area are also using refrigerated trucks to store bodies.
"While COVID-19 has put a strain on our hospital-based morgues, Beaumont is managing with the process for handling confirmed or suspected COVID-19 remains in a safe and respectful manner," Beaumont Health spokeswoman Beth Montalvo told The Free Press.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office will be receiving additional refrigerated trucks for bodies.
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