I'm not being morbid! I want to fill-in the gaps in my understanding. I have been alert to any published data on numbers of pandemic victims by race -but have been, so far, disappointed. You can rationalize it however you like, but if you're like me, you have answered the race question yourself many times on forms -and, I argue, it should be a reasonable question to ask about the epidemic. To get to the point, a recent news report about the Italian situation states the following;

"It is something devastating," said the Rev. Mario Carminati, who has turned over a church in the tiny Lombard town of Seriate to host coffins before they are taken by military convoy to be cremated.

Cremated, as the article states? That's not a proper Catholic burial. It makes me wonder how many of the dead are not Italian. I suspect that many (if not most) of these deceased are foreign. And, if they were Italian, why would not family-why not anybody-attend the funeral? More FTA;

"At least the relatives and family know that someone is taking care of them, with a prayer and a benediction before they are taken away," he said.

The Italian situation may have degenerated into pragmatism concerning the death of loved ones and countrymen. That would be sad. I must assume these many died, far from relatives and family-those who normally would attend to funeral arrangements-but who cannot, because they are too far away. And, just out of morbid curiosity, what is being done with the ashes? One can only hope the deceased were identified (at least) and the ashes returned to their nation of origin.