US orders 100,000 body bags as coronavirus deaths continue to climb across the nation

The federal government ordered another 100,000 body bags as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency ordered the “human remains pouches” last week, according to a contracts database. The $5.1 million contract was awarded to a California company in the Los Angeles metro area.

A FEMA spokesperson told McClatchy News the agency has worked to acquire resources “to meet the worst possible case national scenario.”

“In order to meet the worst case demand models, FEMA initiated a broad range of acquisition contracts to augment available stocks and produce more human remains pouches for future requirements should they be needed,” the spokesperson told McClatchy in an email. “We continue to estimate the number of requirements and are beginning to prepare future plans and inventory models should the nation need these types of assets in future medical or response scenarios.”

The country surpassed 60,000 deaths from coronavirus on Wednesday with more than 1 million confirmed cases.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the order of 100,000 body bags, confirming it’s separate from a request of the same size in early April. That request for human remains pouches was first reported by Bloomberg News.

The additional order of body bogs must be completed by May 4, according to the contract.

In late March, the White House released scientific models predicting 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die of coronavirus.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation modeling predicts over 72,000 people in the U.S. will die of COVID-19 by early August.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 6:04 PM with the headline "US orders 100,000 body bags as coronavirus deaths continue to climb across the nation."