US Coronavirus: ‘There is no room to put these bodies,’ Alabama health official
In Alabama, one of the hardest-hit states in the latest surge, overall hospitalization numbers continue to climb, driving health officials to use mobile trailers to house bodies because Covid-19 deaths are soaring, state health officer Dr. Scott Harris said Friday.
The state activated two of its four refrigerated trailers for the first time since the pandemic began, Harris said, in Mobile and Baldwin counties this week.
“These are typically held in case of a mass casualty event for example, when a large number of bodies appear at one time. This is actually a situation that has happening in Alabama hospitals now,” Harris said.
“We have enough people dying … that there is no room to put these bodies,” he added. “We are really in a crisis situation. … I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be able to do this.”
Alabama reported 50 Covid-19 related deaths Thursday and saw “double digit numbers of deaths” in the past two to three weeks, Harris said.
At least 5,571 Alabama children tested positive for Covid-19 last week, Harris said Friday, noting that officials aren’t sure where the children contracted the virus. The state currently has a 23% Covid-19 positivity rate, among the highest in the nation, Harris said.
Alabama is seeing a surge in pediatric cases from last year, Harris explained. Of the 2,879 people hospitalized with Covid-19 on Thursday, 45 of them are children, with at least five of them on ventilators, Harris said.
“Many schools are struggling now on keeping the doors open and many are going to virtual,” he said.
The study stresses the importance of vaccinating eligible children and young people as schools return.
“Improving vaccination coverage and implementing Covid-19 prevention strategies are crucial to reduce Covid-19–associated morbidity and mortality among adolescents and to facilitate safer reopening of schools for in-person learning,” researchers wrote in the study.
Covid-19 is hitting school staff and students
Back-to-school season has been devastating to some states and districts that are seeing a distressing number of students contract the virus. Preventative measures such as quarantining are happening nationwide.
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