Amid surge in COVID-19 deaths, air quality regulators lifted cremation limits in L.A. County

A man receives the urn containing his father's ashes.
(Image credit: Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images)

Due to COVID-19, there are so many dead bodies in Los Angeles County that air quality regulators have suspended limits on the number of cremations that can be conducted in the area.

The county's death rate is more than double the pre-coronavirus pandemic norm, The Guardian reports, and as of Friday, there were more than 2,700 bodies being stored at the coroner's office and local hospitals.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.