An unprepared UK health care system is forcing workers to reportedly have to wrap deceased bodies in sheets, as they have run out of body bags.
One reason why the National Health Service (NHS) has been caught empty handed, is due to funeral directors preparing for the pandemic after reportedly being “horrified” by the official advice that it was safe not to use them, according to the NHS.
Unclarity on how long the virus lives in the deceased
There is no conclusive information about how long the virus stays active in a dead body. Only one case, out of Thailand, has strong suspicion to have been linked to a dead body. With countries around the world setting up different preventive guidelines for funeral workers.
Universally it is agreed though that as long as unclarity remains that caution is of the utmost importance for these critical workers who are putting their safety on the line.
Suppliers and the military step up to the demand
To keep up with demand Mortuary Equipment Direct, a UK mortuary supplies company, managed to hire a local team that are now sewing up to 200 body bags a day. Managing director, William Quail, told the BBC that for £57.50 ($71,47 )he was struggling to sell that bags to hospitals, who are used to paying £9.00 ($11,19 ), for bags that are produced in China.
The shortage of body bags is a worldwide problem during this pandemic. Images of bodies wrapped in blankets being moved into the refrigerated trucks in New York have shocked the world. In the USA the Pentagon has confirmed that it will be providing 100,000 military bags normally used for casualties in war zones.