People in New York who have died from the coronavirus and not been claimed by anyone could be buried on Hart Island. For over 150 years, the public cemetery,which is managed by the Department of Correction, has been used to lay to rest unclaimed bodies,usually people who haven’t been claimed at the city’s morgue for anywhere from 30 to 60 days.
If morgue officials make contact with a relative of a deceased person within 14 days, the body will not be moved to Hart Island as part of the city’s plan to ensure they have morgue space during the pandemic.
However,prison inmates won’t be tasked with burying people on Hart Island, as they once were for social distancing purposes.
Usually, about 25 people are buried on the island each week,but with the epidemic,the number has risen to 25 people each daily.
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