Aerial video shows mass grave on New York City’s Hart Island amid coronavirus surge

As New York deals with a mounting coronavirus death toll and dwindling morgue space, the city has shortened the length of time it will hold unclaimed remains before they are buried in its public cemetery on Hart Island.

Aerial video captured workers digging mass graves on the island, a one-mile, limited-access strip near the Bronx.

Normally, about 25 bodies a week are interred on the island, mostly for people whose families can’t afford a funeral, or who go unclaimed by relatives. Operations have now increased from one day a week to five days a week, with around 24 burials each day. Warning: video contains sensitive material

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Picture: Screenshot from The Guardian / Youtube.com