A Native American Health Center received body bags, when they asked for covid supplies.

The Seattle Indian Health Board received an order of body bags by mistake from a distributor that meant to ship them to a local health department.

The Seattle Indian Health Board received an order of body bags by mistake from a distributor that meant to ship them to a local health department. In mid-March, when the Seattle region grappled with a coronavirus outbreak, a community health center caring for the area’s Native American population made an urgent request for covid supplies; they ended up receiving an order of body bags. The Seattle Indian Health Board is one of 41 urban health programs under the federal Indian Health Service, which provides health care access to about 2.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. Esther Lucero, who serves as the center’s chief executive officer, told the network that her team “turned ghost white” when the bags arrived in March, reported NBC news. Lucero further said the body bags were sent by mistake from a distributor meant to ship them to a local health department.

Officials with the Seattle Indian Health Board told NBC News that the center currently has sufficient supplies needed to fight the outbreak. However, they stressed the need for more federal and state support for health centers like their own.