Police find 17 bodies in New Jersey nursing home, reports

New Jersey police have found 17 bodies in a nursing home after responding to an anonymous report, according to multiple news reports Thursday.

The dead bodies were reportedly found at Andover Subacute and Rehab Center II, in a morgue large enough to accommodate only four bodies.

Whether the deaths were directly related to the coronavirus is unclear, but police reportedly say facility staffers stored the bodies after becoming overwhelmed by a spike in resident deaths. 

Nursing homes across the country have been hit hard by the fast-spreading virus, largely because of their elderly population with pre-existing health conditions.