New Jersey police officers on Thursday discovered the bodies of 17 people inside the morgue of a nursing home that has become overwhelmed during the coronavirus outbreak, CBS News reports.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., received a request from The Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center, a nursing home in Andover, New Jersey, for 25 body bags. Police went to the center and found 17 bodies inside a morgue meant to hold up to four bodies, and officers note that one of the bodies was previously held in a shed before being moved to the morgue.
The New York Times reports that 68 deaths in total have been linked to the facility in recent times, with 26 having tested positive for the coronavirus before they died.
“They were just overwhelmed by the amount of people who were expiring,” said Andover police chief Eric C. Danielson.
“The challenge we’re having with all of these nursing homes, is once it spreads, it’s like a wildfire,” said Gottheimer. “It’s very hard to stop it.”
He added that his office has received numerous calls from staff members at the facility and from relatives expressing concern and pleading for help. The congressman said he’s talked with a representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which may result in them calling in assistance from National Guard medics.
“It’s scary for everybody — for the residents and for the staff,” Gottheimer said. “What is surprising to me is how many are dying in house, versus the hospital.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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