New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has addressed the unsettling aerial shots of the Hart Island potter's field—a century-old burial site for unclaimed or unidentified people.
De Blasio confirmed there's been a surge in Hart Island burials in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, but refuted the reports about mass graves. "There will be no mass burials on Hart Island," he tweeted Friday. "Everything will be individual and every body will be treated with dignity ... This virus is taking a horrific toll. We’re losing hundreds of neighbors every day. We’ve brought in help from the federal government to ensure we're compassionate and respectful to every family and hold the remains of their loved one until they're ready to make arrangements."
The mayor emphasized that the only people who are buried on the island are those who've not been claimed by a relative or loved one. According to CNN, bodies are taken to the public cemetery, which is managed by the Department of Correction, after it remained unclaimed at the city's morgue for 30 to 60 days. However, De Blasio's press secretary Freddi Goldstein told the outlet the medical examiner's office will transfer a body to the island if it goes unclaimed for two weeks. The rule change is due to the high volume of virus-related deaths and, consequently, an overflow of bodies.
"These are people who no one after a period of time has claimed them, and not just COVID victims, but victims of all diseases, all reasons for fatality," de Blasio said, as reported by NPR. "So because there's just been unfortunately more people passing away, including those who are not claimed by any family, that's what's been happening at Hart Island. But that's the only thing that's been happening at Hart Island."
He also shot down reports that officials were considering temporary burials for COVID-19 victims in the city's public parks, stating: "If there was ever going to need to be a place for burial, it would be Hart Island, where burials are already done."
As of Friday, NYC has tallied 92,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and nearly 6,000 deaths.
