COVID body count forces air quality agency to end limits on cremations in L.A. County
The death rate from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County is so high that an air quality management district was forced to suspend limits on cremations.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which monitors air pollution for multiple California counties, issued an emergency order to suspend limits on crematories in the county because the coronavirus pandemic caused a backlog.
More than 13,800 people have died from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University. The death toll in the county is so high, one person dies from the coronavirus every six minutes, NBC News reported.
“The current rate of death is more than double that of pre-pandemic years, leading to hospitals, funeral homes, and crematoriums exceeding capacity without the ability to process the backlog of cases,” the air quality district said in a Sunday news release. “The Los Angeles County Medical-Examiner Coroner and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have requested that South Coast AQMD suspend limits on cremations in order to protect public health and to respond to the current emergency.”
The emergency order applied to crematories and other facilities in the county. The crematories are required to submit a notice to the health district if they plan to exceed permit limits, the district said.
The suspended limit will be in effect for 10 days, but it can be extended if officials think it’s necessary.
