April 08, 2020

Wawa donates 53-foot refrigerated truck to New Jersey for use as temporary morgue

Gov. Murphy says hard-hit Bergen County will receive the company's vehicle

By Michael Tanenbaum
PhillyVoice Staff

Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice

Wawa sent a large refrigerated truck to New Jersey's hard-hit Bergen County to be used as a temporary morgue. In North Jersey county 263 people have died of COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

As New Jersey battles one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks, Wawa has stepped in to donate a refrigerated truck that will serve as a temporary morgue in North Jersey.

Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted Wednesday afternoon that the Pennsylvania-based company, which has dozens of locations in New Jersey, sent the truck to Bergen County, one of the hardest-hit counties in the United States.

.@Wawa sent a 53-foot refrigerated truck to Bergen County after hearing about our need for refrigerated trucks to help take the pressure off our morgues and funeral homes in protecting the bodies of those we have lost.

Their help is invaluable. We’re so thankful.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 8, 2020

As of Wednesday afternoon, New Jersey has 47,437 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 1,504 deaths due to COVID-19, both the second-most of any state across the country.

In Bergen County, 263 people have died since the start of the pandemic, putting a heavy strain on hospital morgues, county facilities and private mortuaries with limited space.

Distributors of refrigerated trailers and trucks have been flooded with calls from cities and hospitals around the world to manage the overwhelming loss of life that has occurred over the past month, the Associated Press reported last weekend.

Wawa announced last week that it will donate $21,500 in supplies to food banks and charities across the greater Philadelphia area to support the COVID-19 relief effort.

The convenience store chain also made a food donations to staff at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

It’s our honor to play a small role in supporting you while you take care of others! https://t.co/yESugpuhNp
— Wawa (@Wawa) April 8, 2020

Wawa has remained open throughout the pandemic, scaling back some in-store services in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The company said it has earmarked additional funds for food banks and non-profits elsewhere in its service area, which covers six states and Washington, D.C.