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- Wawa provided a 53-foot refrigerated truck to the state of New Jersey to store the bodies of people who have died of COVID-19.
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that Wawa sent the truck to “help take the pressure off our morgues and funeral homes in protecting the bodies of those we have lost.”
- “Deathcare” workers in morgues and funeral homes have struggled to keep up with the rising death toll as more than 12,700 people have died from COVID-19 in the US.
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As “deathcare” workers struggle to keep up with the coronavirus death toll, Wawa has donated a truck to New Jersey to store bodies of those who have died.
“Wawa sent a 53-foot refrigerated truck to Bergen County after hearing about our need for refrigerated trucks to help take the pressure off our morgues and funeral homes in protecting the bodies of those we have lost,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted on Wednesday.
“Their help is invaluable,” Murphy continued. “We’re so thankful.”
As of Tuesday, there are more than 396,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US. More than 12,700 people have died.
According to the US government, 100,000 to 240,000 Americans may die from COVID-19, even if Americans observe strict social distancing guidelines. “Deathcare” workers in morgues and funeral homes have struggled to keep up as more people have died from COVID-19 in hotspots including parts of New York and New Jersey.
“I don’t know how many more bodies I can take,” Patrick Marmo, founder of International Funeral Service of New York, told Business Insider. “No one in the New York City area possibly has enough equipment to care for human remains of this magnitude.”
Wawa has kept locations open as essential businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic. In late March, the premium gas station chain announced it was asking customers and employees to enforce social distancing in stores. Wawa did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for further comment on its donation to New Jersey.
The Wawa Foundation also announced last week it had approved $21,500 worth of donations to 16 food banks and non-profits. The company said it had earmarked additional funds for other groups seeking support during the coronavirus pandemic.
