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PRAGUE: Crematories in the Czech Republic are on the brink of exploding as the death toll from coronavirus rises, putting the country at the top of Europe’s grim statistics.
For weeks, the Czech Republic has been the worst affected country in Europe in terms of new deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Since late October, daily coronavirus deaths in the EU member of 10.7 million people have hovered around 200, compared to the usual average of 300 deaths from all causes.
“We are overloaded, there are many more deaths than usual,” said Josef Melich, owner of a private crematorium in the central city of Tabor.
“The growth is around 40 percent. We cover the retirement homes where most people die with Covid-19. It is difficult,” he told AFP.
The European Federation of Funeral Services says cremations are the most popular burial method in the largely atheist Czech Republic, which has 27 crematoria on its territory.
In 2016, more than four out of five deceased Czechs were cremated, a percentage second only to five other countries, including world leader Japan with 99.98%.
“Covid-19 is naturally a burden on all crematoria,” says Ivo Furmancik, director of a crematorium in the eastern city of Ostrava.
The three-kiln facility covers a large area of land and incinerates about 11,000 bodies a year, a number likely to rise to 12,500 this year due to the epidemic.
In 2016, more than four of the five Czechs who died were cremated, among the highest proportion in the world AFP / Michal Cizek
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MASKS AND GLOVES
“We are working non-stop, and since the second wave of the virus collides with the typical increase in deaths in the autumn, we are facing capacity problems,” Furmancik told AFP.
The crematorium had to build a new cooling box doubling its capacity in a week when demand began to increase.
“It has been in operation since Monday and I hope it will be enough,” Furmancik said.
The epidemic has changed the way Czechs bury their loved ones, following a Health Ministry regulation issued after the March outbreak.
The deceased do not wash or comb or even dress, they are only placed in plastic bags, which are then disinfected and placed in coffins.
“The employees handling the coffins wear masks and gloves,” said Furmancik.
Melich said several of his employees were trapped at home with the disease, which has so far killed nearly 6,000 people in the country.
“We follow all the guidelines, but infection simply cannot be avoided. Our employees come into contact with the virus even while wearing all protective gear,” he said.
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FIRST LINE
The government considers the morgue staff to be a frontline coronavirus worker.
“We are part of the crisis management, just like the medical staff or the waste collectors,” said Oldriska Dvorackova, spokesman for the Prague cemetery administration.
“We are a service that must be available at all times.”
Dvorackova said that Prague crematoria were not as affected as those in other places, but added that funerals were affected by the government limit of 10 mourners per service.
“People have stopped ordering traditional funerals in the halls of ceremonies. Now they decide to postpone the wake until the day they bury the urn,” Dvorackova told AFP.
Furmancik said that when more than 10 people show up for a funeral, he still lets them say goodbye to the coffin.
“But then they have to go out and stay outside, while the funeral itself is attended by the 10 closest relatives,” he added.
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