A temporary mortuary already set up at Birmingham Airport to cope with the number of people killed by coronavirus
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The UK is creating another 30,000 extra mortuary spaces to store the bodies of people who die with coronavirus.
Officials have expressed hope in recent days that the number of deaths related to COVID-19 are flattening, but the emergence of details around the latest contingency planning reflects ongoing fears of a more pessimistic scenario.
The government insists the decision is precautionary and not an indication of how many people it believes will die during the pandemic.
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Simon Clarke, housing, communities and local government minister said: “We all hope these contingencies will not be needed and that requires everyone to play their part in the national effort.
“We’re trying to strike an appropriate balance.”
As of Monday, more than 16,000 coronavirus patients have died in UK hospitals, meaning the country is on track to exceed the 20,000 deaths officials had hoped to limit the toll to.
Regional officials had already begun planning for additional storage for the bodies of coronavirus victims, with a temporary facililty at Birmingham Airport becoming operational this month.
Government adviser and infectious diseases expert Sir Jeremy Farrar admitted last week that the UK could end up being the “worst affected country in Europe”.
But while the government has faced growing criticism over its delay in imposing lockdown measures when compared with most European countries, Mr Clarke said the restrictions it did introduce were now showing their effectiveness.
“We have started to see a flattening of the curve because people are following the measures,” he said.
“We want to make sure that we have the right capacity for the most pessimistic possible outcome.
“It’s about making sure that we have the right resources in place for a range of outcomes and we all hope these contingencies won’t be needed.
“But we do want to make certain that we are not caught without enough capacity, that would obviously be dreadful.”
Among the most prominent critics of the government’s approach in the early stages of the pandemic was former regional health director Professor John Ashton.
And responding to news of the extra mortuary places, he told Sky News: “I think it’s quite interesting that they’re telling us that the situation is levelling off but at the same time they’re creating 30,000 extra mortuary spaces.
“Given the large numbers of people who could die, this is undoubtedly a sensible decision.
“However, it would be ironic if this was one of the only things the government had got right.”
Source: Yahoo News
