Indiana Health Department rents reefer trailers as “proactive” COVID-19 mass casualty measure
A Health Department in Indiana has rented four refrigerated semi trailers to supplement funeral homes that are apparently “overrun with bodies” due to COVID-19 deaths.
The uptick in cases in Vigo County, Indiana was announced by health department administrator Joni Wise and County Commissioner Brendan Kearns on Thursday, November 12th in a video statement titled ‘Covid update. We are in a situation.”
“We have to have some place for mass casualties to go and this is one of those situations that is going to get worse before it gets better,” Wise said in the video.
“People are not wearing masks,” Kearns explained in the video statement. “The hospitals are already pretty much at capacity … they’re busting at the seams … employees are stressed out. This is overwhelming the community.”
Although Kearns has pointed out that the county commission has the power to “shut the county down,” he assures that “we’re not going to do that,” and instead encourages residents to wear masks and practice social distancing, especially while in bars, restaurants, and other social venues, reported Fox 59 News.
The Vigo County Health Department issued the following statement regarding the issue:
We have a mass fatality agreement with Great Dane Trailers for four refrigerator trucks. We also have an assessment of how much mortuary cold space we have in Vigo County. Based on the substantial number of deaths in Vigo County in October 2020 vs October 2019, hospital bed capacity along with sufficient hospital staffing, daily positive cases and the number of deaths from COVID-19 across Indiana it is completely appropriate to be pro-active regarding mass casualties.