Pima County Medical Examiner's office to store bodies, citing backlog in funeral homes

The Pima County Medical Examiner's office says it will begin using excess capacity in its morgue to store bodies for local funeral homes and hospitals, but that the move isn't directly connected to COVID-19 deaths.

HERE IN PIMA COUNTY -- THEMEDICAL EXAMINER WILL ASSISTHOSPITALS AND FUNERAL HOMESWITH STORING BODIES.

IN A NEWSRELEASE THE COUNTY SAYSCAPACITY HAS BECOME MORE OF ANISSUE IN PIMA COUNTY OVER THEPAST FEW WEEKS.

THE RELEASEALSO SAYS THAT THE NEED FORSTORAGE IS TIED TO FUNERALHOME BACKLOGS -- NOT AN EXCESSOF COVID-19 DEATHS.ANOTHER HOTSPOT IS SANTA CRU