NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2020) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed on Friday that residents who did not have anyone to make burial arrangements for them, here including persons infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), are being buried in mass graves on Hart Island in the borough of Bronx.
"Because there have just been unfortunately more people passing away, including those who are not claimed by any family, that's what has been happening at Hart Island," de Blasio said.
The mayor added, "These are people who no one, after a period of time, has claimed them, and not just COVID-19 victims, they are victims of all diseases, all reasons for a fatality, and they are being buried."
In recent weeks, the Hart Island Project non-governmental organization, which seeks to provide information and access to the public cemeteries on the island, has published video footage captured with the use of a drone showing the digging of a mass graves there.
New photos published on Thursday appear to show at least 40 caskets being buried in a single mass grave.
De Blasio emphasized that New York City provides every measure of respect and dignity for people buried on Hart Island, adding that if at any point a family or a friend comes later to claim a decedent, the body will be returned.
