Temporary mortuaries built to hold Covid bodies
BODIES are being stored in overflow mortuaries around the country as hospitals run out of room due to the increase in coronavirus deaths.
Some 170 bodies are being kept in the temporary morgue at Headley Court in Leatherhead, which originally opened in April to alleviate pressure during the first wave of the pandemic.
Similar facilities have been built in Lincolnshire and Lancashire and one opened at the site of the Breakspear Crematorium in Ruislip, London.
In Kent, a pop-up morgue for up to 9 0 bodies is in use in Aylesford. Meanwhile Darent Valley Hospital is using two refrigerated trucks.
More than half of those kept at the Leatherhead facility died with coronavirus, a Surrey Local Resilience Forum spokesman said.
The county’s hospital mortuaries can store 600 bodies but are currently full. The temporary facility has room for 800, but officials said the county would be in ‘real difficulty’ if the 1, 00 capacity is exceeded in coming weeks.
The forum spokesman said: ‘During the first wave, they had 700 bodies go through that (temporary) facility.
‘The first wave lasted approximately 12 weeks from mid-March to mid-May.
‘Since December 21, after just twoand-a-half weeks, they have had 300 bodies go through it.’
The number of patients with Covid19 in hospital has reached a record high in England, while the official Covid death toll for the UK passed 80,000 at the weekend and there are 3million lab-confirmed cases.