The task force includes funeral home directors, faith leaders, morgue operators, cemeteries, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and other stakeholders and seeks to find policy solutions that "ensure decedents are being treated in a dignified manner and allow their loved ones to lay their bodies to rest peacefully."
The Chief Medical Examiner is agreeing to hold bodies for a longer period to give funeral homes and families time to make arrangements.
The ME says they have enough capacity to hold the bodies at their 39th Street Pier disaster morgue in Brooklyn.
The Medical Examiner is also extending hours of operation to work with funeral homes 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Additionally, the city is sending personal protective equipment to all funeral homes and to cemeteries.
At least one delivery has been made to all funeral homes already.
The task force is also working on a clear set of instructions for families on how to go through this process right now, and focusing on making sure all this info is multilingual.
Last week, New York state suspended the license of Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services,
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