US: Funeral homes in Idaho run out of storage amid Covid resurgence

As the US is witnessing an unabated resurgence of new Covid-19 cases, particularly among unvaccinated Americans, some funeral homes in the state of Idaho are running out of space, according to a media report.

Quoting data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CNN report said that Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the US, with only 41.3 per cent of residents fully vaccinated, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are working nonstop. We're exhausted. We're frustrated," the report quoted Ada County Coroner Dotti Owens as saying.

"Funeral homes are out of storage. Our hospitals are out of storage."

According to the CNN report, Covid-19 has killed an average of 20 people a day over the past week in the state.

Meanwhile, hospitals are also overwhelmed.

About 90 per cent of Idaho's ICU beds are currently occupied, with 58.6 per cent taken up by COVID-19 patients, the CNN report noted, citing data from the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

Besides Idaho, only two other states had lower vaccinations rates: West Virginia (40.3 per cent) and Wyoming (41 per cent).