ニューヨークの「葬儀崩壊」

　米国・ニューヨーク。クオモ州知事の指導の下、コロナウィルス対策に成功を収めつつあるとの評を聞くこともある。コロナウィルス対策に成功したのは慶賀の至りと言えるが、残念ながら死者対策にはいささか対策に漏れがあるようで、あまりの死者の多さに葬儀会社が、報じられたのは一社であるとはいえ業務崩壊。自社冷蔵庫が機能停止、間に合わせで借りたローリーに氷と一緒に死体を積み上げ、遂に腐って液が漏れ、警察沙汰に。

BBC Coronavirus: New York funeral home puts corpses in lorries 30 Apr 2020

　氷と一緒に50体ほど。あー、無理じゃないですかね。

「Dozens of bodies have been found stored in moving lorries in New York, authorities say, after passersby complained of the smell.

The Andrew T Cleckley Funeral Home in Brooklyn had rented trucks and put about 50 corpses inside with ice.

One official quoted anonymously in the New York Times said the home's freezer had stopped working.

Police were called to the scene and sealed off the area. A refrigerated truck later arrived.」

　冷凍トラックが代わりに配置され、一応事なきを…得たんだろうか、これ。

「"They had dead bodies in the vans and trucks," the owner of the building next door told the New York Times. "They were on top of each other in body bags... all of [the vehicles] were packed."」

「Mr Adams said they were alerted by "people who walked by who saw some leakage and detected an odour coming from a truck."

By law, funeral directors must keep bodies in safe conditions that prevent infection before they are buried or cremated. The home has since been cited by health officials.」

　末端の一企業の過失ということで、これはクオモ州知事の失態というわけではない。が、こうまで死者が出てしまったことにはちと問われるべきところがあろう。

「More than 18,000 people have died in New York City alone, according to Johns Hopkins University data. As a whole, the US has more than one million confirmed cases of coronavirus, more than any other country.」

　NYだけで1万8千人ですからねえ。州人口はざっと2千万人として―そうだなあ、東京（1200万人）で一気に1万人くらい死者が発生したら…か。それは厳しそうだ。それほど死亡しては、葬儀の手も足りるまい。