He has transported bodies for 20 years. Much of that time he has held a contract to move them for Hidalgo County, epicenter of the valley’s COVID pandemic. He picks them up from hospitals, nursing homes, crime scenes and even alleys. He has ferried all kinds to funeral homes and morgues: Two police officers killed in a shooting last month, decapitated cartel victims and migrant children who drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande.
"She said diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, drug use and heavy drinking" worsened their prognosis, he said. “We were here, taking the precautions we could,” daughter Maura Ramirez, 41, says. “We are losing a lot of families.” As they wheel her down the driveway, Lionel Tinoco stops them. He and his 10 siblings plan to send his mother’s remains to, to bury her beside her late husband. He wants to see his mother, to touch her one last time.
The valley is close-knit. People live and die together. When news spreads of a death, relatives descend on the house and, despite the risks, the pandemic hasn't altered the way they mourn. With few guidelines for handling COVID bodies, Lopez makes up safety rules as he goes. At the start of the pandemic, he refused to pick up COVID dead from hospitals that didn’t use body bags. He won't do COVID deep cleans, even though upstart companies in the valley are charging more than $2,000.Lopez is trim and naturally effusive, but he is worn down by weeks of death and anxiety. He prays before every meal but quit attending church during the pandemic for fear he might get sick.
How very sad
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