TRENTON, NJ – The state of New Jersey is currently operating at least two temporary morgues to house COVID-19 victims and as of Wednesday, 17 bodies are being held within them.
New Jersey State Police Superintendent Patrick Callahan said the two morgues are still in operation but will begin to draw down in the coming weeks.
“We did start up to temporary morgue sites,” Callahan said. “One is that University Hospital in Newark. As of today, there are ten decedents being held there. We also have one at Trenton Central Reception and Assignment facility where there’s currently seven decedents on site.”
Although the two temporary morgue sites were opened to assist should the omicron variant had become more deadly than it was, both facilities were able to provide a supportive effort for funeral homes and hospitals, which were not overwhelmed with dead during the omicron wave.
“I think that was a combination of staffing from a medical examiner’s standpoint and again, supporting those locations to decompress, which were – using the word overwhelmed would be an exaggeration but certainly just as a supportive effort for our funeral homes and hospitals,” Callahan said.