In coronavirus-hit Texas and Arizona, refrigerated trucks are being used to store dead

Texas and Arizona have resorted to use refrigerated trucks to handle the overwhelming body count as the coronavirus outbreak continues to escalated in the United States. Earlier this year, New York was also forced to do the same thing to ease the burden on their near-capacity morgues.

The United States is by far the nation hardest hit by the global pandemic. More than 138,000 people have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Earlier this week, Texas topped its daily virus death toll record with 129 fatalities. So far, more than 3,700 people in the state have lost their lives to COVID-19.

In cities like San Antonio and Corpus Christi, authorities monitoring the spiraling caseload are ordering freezer trucks and trailers as they brace for the worst.

In the southwestern state of Arizona, more than 2,500 deaths linked to the novel coronavirus have been reported. 

In Maricopa County, home to the state's capital and biggest city Phoenix, authorities ordered 14 refrigerated trucks on Thursday, with a capacity to hold up to 294 bodies.

The chief medical officer for the Christus Santa Rosa health system operating in that area said: "In the hospital, there are only so many places to put the bodies. We're out of space. Our funeral homes are out of space."