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"We will follow the facts wherever they go," state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said Thursday, without elaborating.
Andover police responding to a tip reported the discovery in a morgue built for four at the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in Sussex County on Easter Sunday and into Monday.
“They were just overwhelmed by the number of people who were expiring,” Andover Police Chief Eric Danielson told The New York Times.
How many of the victims whose bodies were found in tagged body bags died of COVID-19 couldn’t immediately be determined.
According to the Times, 26 of 68 recent deaths overall that are linked to Andover Subacute and Rehab Centers involved victims infected by the coronavirus.
Andover police said Thursday that two of the bodies were taken to a local funeral home, 13 reportedly were placed in a refrigerated trailer at nearby Newton Medical Center, with two temporarily left in the morgue.
Laurie Facciarossa Brewer, the New Jersey Long-Term Care Ombudsman, told the New Jersey Herald that the facility was one of three that her office was investigating out of various concerns.
Of the remaining patients in two buildings at Andover, 76 tested positive for COVID-19, along with 41 staffers, The Times reported.
Family members and staff have expressed deep concern over a lack of information reported to authorities.
So have New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Grewal, the state's top law enforcement official.
"Like the governor and so many other New Jerseyans, I am deeply troubled by the high number of deaths at certain nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the state," Grewal said, "especially those with below-average track records for health inspections, staffing, and quality of care."
"As is our standard practice, we will not be providing further updates on the investigation unless and until we bring an enforcement action or close the case," he added.
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ALSO SEE: A reported 33 people have died at a Park Ridge nursing home since the coronavirus pandemic began, while 21 others who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 were transferred to a facility in South Jersey.
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