Los Angeles buries its unclaimed Covid19-year dead

Almost 2,000 people who died during the first year of the Covid-19 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.

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.