'We Have No Space': County Has Weekslong Funeral Waiting List

ACROSS AMERICA — Twenty-three families.

That's how long the waiting list is at one Los Angeles County funeral home.

While many of us don't think about the logistics behind funerals, it's a job for Todd Beckley, he recently told National Public Radio. And right now, in a county where 1 in 3 people have tested positive for the coronavirus, his job is like nothing he's experienced before.

"When you tell a family 'We have no space,' they have to begin making phone calls to see what mortuaries have spaces available. And I've been doing this since 1965, and I've never seen anything like this," Beckley told NPR's "Morning Edition."

Infections in the nation's most populous county have led to a stunning 14,000 deaths as health care workers and officials continue to grapple with a post-holiday surge.

What's worse is coronavirus patients going into LA hospitals this winter have been sicker and more than twice as likely to die of the disease than they were in the fall, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Because of the spiking death rate, more than 4,000 Angelenos have died since the start of the year.

For Beckley, his job involves helping these families grieve and helping them find a sense of closure.

In many cases, he can't do that right now.

"In normal times, if a death occurred on a Monday, the family would ask, 'Can we have a service on Thursday?' And we'd say absolutely," Beckley told NPR. "Well, now we have to tell the family that we're scheduling services in February."

Listen to the full interview on NPR

The Latest

On Day Two of his presidency, Joe Biden on Friday signed two more executive orders aimed at curbing the economic damage inflicted by the coronavirus crisis and feeding those suffering from pandemic-induced hunger.

One of the orders calls for a 15 percent increase in benefits received by low-income students through the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer program. It also calls for expanded eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps.

"The American people can't afford to wait," Brian Deese, the National Economic Council director, said during a Friday news conference. "And so many are hanging by a thread. They need help, and we are committed to doing everything we can to provide that help as quickly as possible."

In Friday's actions, Biden also called for the Office of Personnel Management to develop recommendations to pay more federal employees at least $15 per hour.

Biden is moving with lightning speed to address the pandemic that has infected nearly 24.8 million Americans and claimed more than 415,000 lives in the United States.

Possibly among those hundreds of thousands was legendary broadcaster and talk show host Larry King, who died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 87 years old.

A statement issued by Ora Media, the company he helped found in 2012, did not specifically cite the cause of death for the Brooklyn native and longtime nationally syndicated radio host; however, he was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai last month after testing positive for coronavirus.

King, host of "Larry King Live" on CNN, conducted an estimated 50,000 on-air interviews, according to The Associated Press. He was an enduring on-air personality who set himself apart with the curiosity be brought to every interview.

• Larry King, Radio Host And Broadcasting Legend, Dies At 87

Meanwhile, at least 150 National Guard members sent to Washington, D.C. to provide Inauguration Day security following the deadly Jan. 6 riot on the U.S. Capitol have tested positive for coronavirus, according to a report by Reuters.

In a statement to Reuters, the National Guard said it would not discuss the cases, though a source who spoke to the publication said as many as 200 guard members could be infected and that the number could very likely grow.

More than 25,000 National Guard members were deployed to D.C. in the days leading up to Biden's inaugural. About 7,000 are expected to remain in the city through the end of the month.

In other news, Dr. Anthony Fauci is back.

In truth, the nation's leading infectious-diseases expert never really went away. But after enduring nearly a year of darts and undermining comments from now-former President Donald Trump, Fauci now speaks with the authority of the White House again.

During a news conference Thursday, he called it "liberating" to be backed by a science-friendly administration that has embraced his recommendations to battle COVID-19.

"One of the new things in this administration is, if you don't know the answer, don't guess," Fauci said in one pointed observation during a White House briefing. "Just say you don't know the answer."

While choosing his words carefully, Fauci acknowledged that it had been difficult at times to work for Trump, who repeatedly played down the severity of the pandemic, refused to consistently promote mask-wearing and often touted unproven scientific remedies, including a malaria drug and even injecting disinfectant.

"The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know and what the science is ... it is something of a liberating feeling," Fauci told reporters.

• Fauci Unleashed: Doc Takes 'Liberating' Turn At Center Stage

Also in Washington, D.C., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday quietly changed its immunization guidelines, specifically targeting the second dose of the long-awaited coronavirus vaccine.

According to a New York Times report, the CDC altered guidance to allow those receiving the shot to switch from one vaccine to another in "exceptional situations." This means if someone received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, in some cases, they may be able to receive a second dose produced by another pharmaceutical company.

CDC guidance was also changed to extend the interval between doses to six weeks, even though such changes have not been studied in clinical trials.

CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told the Times that the agency’s “intention is not to suggest people do anything different, but provide clinicians with flexibility for exceptional circumstances.”

Finally, National Football League officials announced on Friday that 7,500 health care vaccinated for the coronavirus will get free tickets to next month's Super Bowl, scheduled to take place in Tampa, Florida.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release that attendance at the Feb. 7 game would be limited to those workers and about 14,500 other fans. Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has a capacity of just under 66,000, according to its website.

"These dedicated health care workers continue to put their own lives at risk to serve others, and we owe them our ongoing gratitude," Goodell said in the release. "We hope in a small way that this initiative will inspire our country and recognize these true American heroes."

While most workers who receive tickets will come from Tampa Bay and central Florida, all 32 NFL teams will choose workers from their cities to attend the game, The Associated Press reported.

Newest Numbers

At least 3,990 deaths and 191,892 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States on Friday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily cases fell 20.4 percent, new daily deaths fell 7 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations fell 7.9 percent.

Currently, 122,700 people are hospitalized with a coronavirus-related illness in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

As of Saturday, 42 states and U.S. territories remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

As of midday Saturday, the United States had reported more than 24.9 million cases and more than 415,700 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or The Washington Post.

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