Boston Globe Death Notices Fill A Staggering 16 Pages Amid Pandemic

Readers of the print edition of the Boston Globe encountered a grim reminder of the staggering toll of the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday. Sixteen pages of the April 19 edition of the Globe were devoted to death notices — more than double the number from the comparable Sunday the previous year.

The death notices ― paid postings that typically announce a person’s death, surviving family members and funeral services ― included the names of people from across Massachusetts, as well as 14 other states and a handful of foreign countries, the Globe said.

It was unclear how many of the notices were for people who died from complications of COVID-19, but several mentioned a battle with the virus. In contrast to the 16 pages of notices, the April 21, 2019, edition of the Sunday paper had seven pages of death notices.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said on Sunday that the state was “right in the middle” of a coronavirus surge.

More than 38,000 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for COVID-19; more than 1,700 have died. The state has the third-highest number of infections in the U.S., after New York and New Jersey.