Nearly 2,000 unclaimed bodies of people who died in 2020 in Los Angeles during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic have finally been laid to rest.
A non-denominational mass burial ceremony was held at the LA County Cemetary on Thursday, almost three years after 1,937 individuals died of the infectious virus during the global pandemic.
All those who were buried at the event were never claimed by any friends or family members.
"We don’t know enough about the people we are burying here today to really do them justice," Supervisor Janice Hahn said during the ceremony, Fox11 reports.
"But we know many of them were unhoused. Some are children. Some were immigrants to this country, far from families who loved and missed them. Almost all of them were very poor."
This was reiterated by Supervisor Hilda Solis, according to the outlet, who said that the pandemic hit the most vulnerable communities the hardest.
The burial, called the ‘Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead,’ was open to the public and and was presided over by leaders from different faiths in the community.
The burial of almost 2,000 people took place at Los Angeles County Cremetory and Cemetary— (Google Maps)
The event was held by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, along with the Department of Health Services, Office of Decedent Affairs and the Los Angeles General Medical Center Chaplains, and was livestreamed on Facebook after the in-person attendance reached its capacity.
Almost 2,000 people were buried in a single communal grave; their bodies were cremated beforehand, so their ashes were placed in the ground, with a marker indicating their year of cremation, Fox11 said.
“For one reason or another, they had no loved ones who could claim their bodies when they passed,” Ms Hahn said during the burial.
During the ceremony, she also acknowledged the sadness of the situation, recognising that these people may have been lonely and in a lot of pain, but said that they are now “in a more peaceful place,” according to the outlet.
This is not the first time a ceremony of this nature has happened in the county, as there are unclaimed bodies every year, which the Office of Decedent Affairs will tend to.
As per their policy, the office will wait three years just in case any family members will come and claim them.
The LA General Medical Center will also try and work with families and get in contact with them before they are buried.
In 2020, there were 26 per cent more deaths in Los Angeles County than the previous year, having a huge impact on services throughout the county.
The Independent has contacted the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles Department of Health Services and the Office of Decedent Affairs for comment.
