Boston Globe prints 16 pages of death notices in one day as coronavirus cases surge

Sunday’s print edition of the Boston Globe contained 16 pages of death notices, a somber reflection of the growing number of novel coronavirus cases and deaths. 

That’s more than double the number of pages with death notices as ran on the same Sunday in 2019, according to CBS News. The previous Sunday, the Globe ran 11 pages of the tributes. 

The tributes that ran Sunday came from throughout Massachusetts as well as some form other states and countries. They included New Jersey, Texas, California, Italy, and Ireland among other places.

The Boston Globe accepts death notices from funeral homes or friends and family of those who have passed. It’s unclear the exact number of deaths that were pandemic-related, though several did mention loved ones fighting coronavirus before their death. 

15 pages of death notices in today’s @BostonGlobe. I’ve never seen that before. pic.twitter.com/Gu4KNIQbDz

— Delia (@DeliaCabe) April 19, 2020

Other newspapers around the world have seen similar trends during the pandemic. According to The New York Times, an Italian newspaper that usually only runs one page of death notices ran 10 pages on a Friday in March. 

As of Monday evening, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the total number of coronavirus cases in the United States was more than 746,000 with a total of 39,085 deaths.  Massachusetts has 39,643 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of Monday. 

Over the weekend, Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker (R) warned the state is becoming a hot spot for COVID-19, saying “we’re right in the middle of the surge now.” 

Deaths from the virus in the state are expected to top 2,000 this week, and officials are working to get more supplies to hospitals as they battle the outbreak.