14 portable morgues on way to Central Florida: 'Number of deaths right now is unprecedented'

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/coronavirus/os-ne-coronavirus-morgue-relief-orange-20210827-ljpu6e3lhneshfk42cyivkbnam-story.html

Fourteen portable refrigerated morgues are headed to Central Florida to help beleaguered hospitals store bodies, officials said Friday.

“The number of deaths right now is unprecedented,” said Lynne Drawdy, executive director of the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition, who ordered the units for health systems here. “What we’re hearing from the hospitals is that the death count right now is higher than it ever has been.”

Although she could not say how many of the deaths are due to COVID-19, she said COVID-19 is unquestionably the “precipitating event.”

Florida is now reporting an average of 227 COVID-19 deaths a day — a state record and by far the highest count in the nation.