As the tragic nature of the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to take shape in New York City, reports have surfaced indicating that the city's hospitals and municipal departments are anticipating that regional morgue facilities will reach or exceed their designed capacity. 

CNN reports that New York City officials have begun setting up makeshift morgues in refrigerated trailers outside of Elmhurst Hospital in Queens and New York Bellevue Hospital Center in Manhattan, where a large number of COVID-19 related deaths have occurred. 

The development marks the first time that the city has set up such temporary facilities since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. NYC medical examiner spokesperson Aja Worthy-Davis tells CNN that nearly 50 refrigerated trucks are being deployed to the NYC region and that in total, including hospital and city facilities and new temporary morgues, the city now has a capacity for 3,500 to 3,600 bodies. Without the temporary facilities, CNN reports, NYC has a typical capacity of 900 bodies. It is expected that the city's existing morgues could reach capacity as early as this week.

As of Monday, March 30, 2020, New York City is reporting 33,768 COVID-19 cases and 776 COVID-related deaths, The New York Times reports.

The move to improvised morgue facilities comes as a bevy of existing buildings and sites are converted for temporary emergency hospital use across the city in an effort to make more room for the growing number of COVID-19 patients. 

Last week, the Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a conceptual plan that offers guidance for how existing hotels, college dormitories, and convention centers can be retrofit for temporary hospital use. In addition, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the creation of a task force that aims to provide design and logistical guidance for these temporary facilities.