Coronavirus News: 'Largest mass fatality incident' ever in New York City

COVID-19 News and Information

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Friday, September 18, 2020

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NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The number of deaths reported to New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner more than doubled in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic gripped the nation's largest city, according to a new report from the mayor's office.

"COVID-19 tragically represents the largest mass fatality incident in modern NYC history," the report said.

There were 65,712 deaths reported to OCME in 2020, compared to 30,964 a year earlier.

"The number of deaths reported to OCME increased, corresponding to the surge in NYC deaths during the pandemic," the report said.

The number of cremation requests jumped by 10,000 from 2019. OCME responded to 27,863 cremation requests, up from 17,148 last year.

"This increase came about during the months of March through June, where OCME received 16,115 requests, a number that approached the entire Fiscal 2019 total," the report said. "This increase corresponds to the surge in deaths NYC experienced during the pandemic to date."

About 24,000 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 in New York City.

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The medical examiner's section in the mayor's management report is available here.

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