Los Angeles, United States.
A cadaver in the lounge and cushions packed in the garage is part of the normality in Boyd Funeral Home, a small family familiarity in Los Angeles, is so saturated with covid-19 victims that it has begun to return customers for the first time in its history.
“The last week before yesterday he reached 16 families for those who could not provide services”, said the owner Candy Boyd. “It’s sad. Pero así es como es ahora”.
One of each 10 inhabitants of the second largest city in the country has been infected since the pandemic started, and in this case 300 people died daily during the week before the contagions increased.
At Boyd’s reception, the phones did not ring, but women called did not answer. The personalized abrama now the dice to the customers that are simply present and hagan fila.
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This is included Descendants of Desperate Families of other condos, more than one hour by car. Many hospital beds are also empty, with local forces using refrigerated trucks to accommodate victims. Some cements suggest a list of hopefuls of two weeks.
“There are always some things to control”, Boyd dice. During the AFP visit this week, a gift with a crown of flowers will occupy the staff lounge. Llevaba alli una semana.
“This accommodation is our area of mortality, without embarrassment, so we use this room as a space for devotion”, explains the owner. “We have the same services, but the cement is so busy that we have to keep it until we have time to make the interior”.
Cuerpos in the garage
Like the large part of the Los Angeles area, Westmont’s nursery lives mainly in black and Latin working class communities, which reside in densely populated areas.
These zones have been particularly affected by the pandemic, with mortality rates of three times higher than those of the surrounding communities.
The Boyd’s refrigeration chamber of the Boyd Funeral Home was constantly empty. Half a week ago, Boyd worked as a carpenter to build large building structures in the company garage to carry out embalmed corpses.
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“Ni siquiera ha tenido la opungunidad de terminar realte porque necesitábamos (almacenar) estos”, dice, señalando los cadáveres envueltos en bolsas que yacían en los stantes. “I never imagined having to build it, but in my own most beautiful places”.
Some workers have been informed of an escalation of debts due to failure, but Boyd’s supplier is keeping track of the payments as long as they are sufficiently sufficient.
“Pesadillas”
Concerned about his five employees who contracted the virus at the beginning of the pandemic, Boyd initially sought to accept covid’s victims. “Tenía pesadillas. No podium comer, no podium dormir”, recuerda.
Since then, Boyd has created security protocols and now feels comfortable dealing with the flu, although insists “not to deal with a dinner issue”.
“Treat yourself to help the families”, dice. “I do not invoice all the days, I’m suffering with it,” agrees Boyd. “And he who maintains an impassable car because he is there for the family”.
‘N Veces, the clients my people have the conoce personally from hace much time. Other times, Boyd meets with families who are not used to using mascarillas or respecting the physical distance, including when traumatizing them to enter their homes.
“The numbers do not mean, they are green, they are real”, Boyd doubles on the subject. Cases in California have been duplicated more than 2.8 million since December. “If you are not serious about it”, advised an AFP journalist, “I will be one of the people who are in my last line”.