New York
Harrowing photos allegedly taken at a Detroit hospital where coronavirus patients have died in emergency room hallways show bodies stored in vacant rooms and piled on top of each other in a mobile morgue, CNN reports.
An emergency room worker at Sinai-Grace Hospital shared the shocking images with the outlet, which published them on Monday.
In one photo, two victims in white body bags are seen lying side-by-side on a bed and a third is propped up in an arm chair.
A second photo allegedly shows multiple body bags stacked on the floor of what is believed to be a portable refrigerated storage unit parked outside the hospital.
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Two other ER workers confirmed to CNN that the shots are an accurate portrayal of what took place at Sinai-Grace during an overwhelming 12-hour shift earlier this month.
That shift was in the midst of the hospital’s busiest period to date, which saw staff scrambling to treat up to 130 patients at a time as COVID-19 killed around five people every 12 hours.
At least two patients were reportedly found dead after being left in emergency room corridors, sources claimed as they described a constant shortage of staff, supplies and space to store bodies.
“All I know is we ran out of beds to keep our patients on so we couldn’t spare any for the bodies,” said one ER worker, who witnessed the bodies in the room.
Two other ER workers confirm to CNN that they have personally seen victims placed like this inside the units due to the growing number of bodies.
They say that blue bags shown in the photo are the personal effects of the deceased.
“Bodies are definitely double stacked on the floor. There is no lift to help put the bodies on the shelf,” said one ER worker who has witnessed similar scenes of bodies.
In a statement last week – before the body bag images emerged – the hospital’s director of communications and media relations told CNN: ‘Like many hospital systems, the demand to care for the ever-increasing number of patients is putting a strain on our resources and staff.
‘Surge plans are in place at our hospital to handle the increase in patient volumes to ensure we provide the safest and most appropriate care for our patients.’