Mobile Morgues, 5K Body Bags Readied As Coronavirus Slams SoCal

LOS ANGELES, CA — Just 24 hours after declaring "Hope Has Arrived," with the first shipment of coronavirus vaccines, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to distribute thousands of body bags and refrigerated morgue units for communities overwhelmed by COVID-19 deaths.

The announcement was a stark reminder that the pandemic is quickly getting worse and though the vaccine offers hope, it's a distant hope. In Los Angeles County, where a majority of body bags and morgue units will be shipped, hospitals are quickly being overwhelmed and the COVID-19 death toll is skyrocketing.

"We just had to order 5,000 additional body bags ... and we just distributed them down to San Diego, Los Angeles, Inyo counties," he said. "That should be sobering. I don't want ... to scare folks, but this is a deadly disease. And we need to be mindful of where we are in this current journey together to the vaccine. We are not at the finish line yet."

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According to the governor, the state has 60 53-foot refrigerated storage units on standby at counties and hospitals across California for use in local facilities become overwhelmed by virus fatalities.

"This is a deadly disease, a deadly pandemic, and we're in the middle of it right now," Newsom said. "We're near the end, but we're in the middle of the most acute peak as it relates to what we refer to as the third wave — the third and what we hope is the final wave of this disease."

SEE ALSO

• 'Hope Has Arrived': CA's First Doses Of Vaccine Land In State
• Angelenos Urged To Avoid ER As COVID-19 Patients Crowd Hospitals
• OC Intensive Care Units Hit Zero Capacity; COVID Cases Soar

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Newsom said 142 coronavirus-related deaths were reported statewide in the past 24 hours. Over the past week, the state averaged 163 deaths per day -- up from 41 per day one month ago.

"Think about if we continue down the path we're on, what that Jan. 14th number might look like if we do not do what we need to do, which is not just to avail ourselves when we can to the vaccine, but to continue to wear these face coverings and minimize mixing to the extent possible because of what's occurred in the last 30 days," Newsom said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.