The Pentagon is looking to give as many as 100,000 military-style body bags for upcoming fatalities as the United States warns that deaths could rise exponentially in the weeks to come due to COVID-19.
100,000 body bags known as Human Remains Pouches have been requested by The Federal Emergency Management Agency, through an interagency group that directed it to the Defense Department. The Pentagon is seeking to get a hold of additional bags and will pull out some from a stockpile of 50,000 currently in its possession, as per sources familiar with the request.
The Pentagon has recently deployed two hospital ships to Los Angeles and New York in order to take off some of the burden carried by regional COVID-19-stricken hospitals.
The Defense Logistics Agency’s Troop Support unit is in charge of the Pentagon’s body bags that are usually used in war zones. They have been been in talks with a contractor to discuss the order but haven’t placed a formal one yet, according to the sources.
More than 200,000 U.S. citizens are likely to die in the coronavirus pandemic, as per a top White House official, even with the most strict guidelines and restrictions in place. Reviewing the situation, President Donald Trump warned the nation of the troubling times ahead.
“The surge is coming, and it’s coming pretty strong,” President Trump said in a White House press briefing Tuesday. “It is absolutely critical for the American people to follow the guidelines. It’s a matter of life and death.”
The government did not initially give out details regarding its forecast for the spread of the coronavirus, which has thus far caused the deaths of over 4,400 people in the U.S. and infected over 200,000.
“This is going to be a painful two weeks,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday. “Our strength will be tested, our endurance will be tried.”
The Defense Logistics Agency is not yet certain when the body bags will arrive but they want them as soon as possible, and the Pentagon has come close to an agreement with its current contractor regarding the quantity and timelines, one of the sources said.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesperson said they are making “prudent planning” for potential future needs, which also includes “mortuary contingencies” from U.S. states.
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Source: Bloomberg