A makeshift morgue has been set up outside a hospital in Manhattan, New York, to deal with a rising number of coronavirus deaths in the city.
A number of dome-like white tents and refrigerated trucks were photographed outside Bellevue Hospital on Wednesday, staffed by armed military personnel and the city’s medical examiner's office.
It came as officials warned the city’s morgues could be filled to capacity by next week. Politico reported that the Department of Homeland Security had been briefed that they will reach capacity within seven days.
New York City now has 17,800 confirmed coronavirus cases and 192 deaths. Nearly 3,000 people are hospitalised in the city because of the virus, stretching medical facilities to breaking point. Statewide, more than 30,000 people have tested positive, and 285 have died.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that hospitals were close to being overwhelmed as many as 140,000 hospital beds may be needed, far greater than its current capacity of 53,000.
New York has in recent days become the epicentre of the US outbreak, even as it has taken some of the most stringent measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
In a press conference, he said the state’s measures to control the coronavirus appear to be working as the rate of hospitalisations has slowed in recent days.
"Now that is almost too good to be true," he said. "This is a very good sign and a positive sign, again not 100 percent sure it holds, or it's accurate but the arrows are headed in the right direction."
