「無縁遺骨」２０００柱埋葬、コロナ流行の２０年に死亡 米ＬＡ

【ロサンゼルスＡＦＰ＝時事】米ロサンゼルスで１４日、新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）が始まった２０２０年に死亡し、引き取り手のない「無縁遺骨」約２０００柱が共同墓地に埋葬された。（写真は米カリフォルニア州ロサンゼルスで行われた無縁遺骨の埋葬式）
　埋葬式には宗教界や政界の指導者だけでなく、一般市民も数十人参列した。
　ロサンゼルス郡のスーパーバイザー、ヒルダ・ソリス氏は、「悲しいことに、２０２０年に死亡した１９３７人は、遺骨の引き取りを名乗り出る近親者がいなかった」と述べた。
　ジョンズ・ホプキンス大学によれば、ロサンゼルス郡は新型コロナの被害が最も大きい郡の一つで、２０２３年３月までに約３７０万人が感染、３万５０００人以上が死亡した。
　ロサンゼルス郡は１８９６年から毎年、無縁遺骨の埋葬式を行っている。
　ソリス氏は「これらの人々は、ホームレスだったか近親者がいない可能性がある。遺族が遺骨を引き取れるよう、死亡から埋葬までに３年間の待機期間を設けている」と説明した。
　昨年埋葬されたパンデミック前の２０１９年分の「無縁遺骨」は１６００柱強だった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/12/15-18:56）

Almost 2,000 people who died during the first year of the Covid pandemic and whose bodies were never claimed were laid to rest in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The cremated remains were put in a communal grave in a ceremony attended by religious and political leaders, as well as several dozen members of the public.
In 2020 sadly 1,937 residents passed away without a next of kin coming forward to claim their remains. And it is those lives that we honor... today, said LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis.
We know the desperate impact that Covid-19 had on our most vulnerable communities.
In the county, the life of every resident... is very important to us, regardless of who (they) were, where they came from, where they lived, who they loved and how they passed.
Los Angeles was among the worst affected counties in the United States when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, with around 3.7 million cases in the three years to March 2023, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The county recorded more than 35,000 deaths in that period, the university's data shows.
Thursday's ceremony is an annual tradition in the county that has happened since 1896.
It is carried out by the county's Office of Decedent Affairs, which says it manages cremation and burial for indigent/unclaimed individuals who die within the County of Los Angeles jurisdiction.
These individuals may be homeless or have no next of kin. A three-year waiting period between the year of death and burial allows family members to claim cremated remains.
The ceremony for those who died in 2019 -- before the outbreak of the pandemic -- interred the remains of just over 1,600 people.