Mass Graves Are Dug in New York as Coronavirus Cases Spiral

New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any other country outside the US, according to the latest figures on Thursday.

As the number of the state’s confirmed cases of Covid-19 jumped by 10,000 on Thursday to 159,937, placing it ahead of Spain (153,000 cases) and Italy (143,000), photos have emerged of workers in hazmat outfits burying coffins in a mass grave in New York City.

Drone footage showed workers using a ladder to descend into the huge pit where the caskets were stacked.

The images were taken at Hart Island, off the Bronx, which has been used for more than 150 years by city officials as a mass burial site for those with no next-of-kin, or families who cannot afford funerals, known historically as a pauper’s cemetery or “potter’s field.”

☣️New York City, New York, USA🇺🇲
A mass grave has been dug. It will be filled, like mass graves around the world, with OUR family. We are all one family. We are all in this together.pic.twitter.com/yxv9zaGonb

— 🕊️ Pandemic Survivors USA 🇺🇸 (@PndmcSrvvrsUSA) April 10, 2020

The United States as a whole has recorded 462,000 cases and nearly 16,500 deaths so far from the coronavirus. Globally there are 1.6 million cases and 95,000 deaths.

While New York state leads the world in the number of coronavirus cases overall, its death toll (7,000) lags behind those of Spain (15,500) and Italy (18,000), although it is more than double the official figure from China (3,300) according to government sources there.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday urged residents of his state to continue to stay home and practice social distancing in order to quell the spread of COVID-19.

“9/11 was supposed to be the darkest day in New York for a generation,” Cuomo said at a Thursday press conference. “And then, in many ways, we lose so many more New Yorkers to this silent killer.”

"9/11 was supposed to be the darkest day in New York for a generation," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his Thursday coronavirus briefing.

"And then, in many ways, we lose so many more New Yorkers to this silent killer."https://t.co/tEXhjVlsau pic.twitter.com/ikvi98Yc1h

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 9, 2020

A Greek physician who works at Montefiore Medical Center in the New York City borough of the Bronx described to Greek Reporter earlier in the week the unprecedented situation. “I will not describe it as chaos, but this is a very difficult situation,” he said.

“The hospital is at the breaking point, but thankfully indications are that the spread of the disease is at its highest point,” says Leonidas Palaiodimos, who admits that he feels the stress. However, he adds, he is not frightened, telling Greek Reporter, “I simply do not have the time to feel scared.”