How is COVID-19 changing the way we die?

 

Nearly 80,000 people have died of COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic hit Germany. Behind every statistic lies a sad personal story about the fates of individuals and their families.

Sahar Zand | BBC Our World | Living with Dead in Indonesia

The dead are a constant presence in the Toraja area of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Centuries old traditions mean the dead share space with the living everyday. A morbid obsession or a positive way of dealing with the grief of losing a loved one?

Coronavirus: US reports first death as outbreak spreads across country

Shortly before the first coronavirus death in the US was confirmed, Joe Biden condemned Donald Trump’s claim that the outbreak is a “new hoax” orchestrated by Democrats in order to beat him at the polls in November.

“For him to … start talking about being a hoax is absolutely dangerous,” Biden said in Greenville, South Carolina, on Saturday. “It’s just not a decent way to act.”

Not long after Biden spoke, Washington state’s governor, Jay Inslee, confirmed the death in his state.

“It is a sad day in our state as we learn a Washingtonian has died from Covid-19,” Inslee said in a statement. Our hearts go out to his family and friends. We will continue to work toward a day where no one dies from this virus.”

Officials in Washington state say a person has died of coronavirus, the first death to be reported in the United States.

From: NBC News

The death is the first from coronavirus illness COVID-19 in the United States.

The U.S. so far has 66 cases of coronavirus, which includes 9 people who have recovered and four “presumptive” cases, which are those that tested positive in local tests with confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pending.