PUEBLO COUNTY — The Pueblo County Coroner's Office has activated its Deployable Morgue Unit as of Saturday due to limited morgue space.
The unit, a refrigerator truck, is staged and operating in support of the healthcare and deathcare providers in the county, the Coroner said.
Some residents near Saint Mary-Corwin hospital have a perfect view of the mobile-morgue and find it "really creepy". Brian McCann can see the morgue truck from his front yard. He says he finds its presence rather unsettling.
“I just found out last night it was a morgue, and that gave me the chills. I’ve been up since 1:30 This Morning!"
McCann claims his father worked at the hospital for "over 30 years" and that he knows the campus very well.
“I know that there’s more than one area that they could park that truck, in a more discrete area of that property,” said McCann.
He also claims his neighbor who has children is very uncomfortable about the morgue's presence:
“Kind of mind-boggling that it’s out here for the public to see out here. Everybody driving by, all these kids… The school’s right down there, and all they need to know is that there’s a morgue being that close to them.”
The truck will be used for the short-term storage of recently deceased people who are awaiting final arrangements. When asked about deaths in Pueblo County, Coroner Brian Cotter would not comment on whether the deaths are COVID-19 related nor any causes in general. The Coroner said today that the mobile-morgue is necessary due to the limited morgue capacity Pueblo is currently facing. However, it is not confirmed right now whether the morgue is actively being used, or remains empty and available as a precaution.
The Pueblo Health Department says that COVID-19 is now the leading cause of death in Colorado.
Pueblo County went into Level Red on the state's COVID dial in November to address the rising incident rate. As of December 16, the county has reported 237 deaths among 11,705 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
The Pueblo County Coroner's Office has activated it's Deployable Morgue Unit. The unit is staged and operating in support of the Healthcare and Deathcare providers in the County. It will be used for the short-term storage of recently deceased persons awaiting final arrangements. pic.twitter.com/pL8L7ueTEy
— Pueblo County Coroner (@CoronerPueblo) December 15, 2020
