Workers at a German crematorium are resorting to stacking coffins on top of each other as the country fights a new wave of coronavirus deaths during an intense second wave of pandemic.
The crematorium in the city of Meissen in eastern Saxony began to feel the impact in November, when coronavirus-related deaths began to rise at an unexpected rate, according to crematorium manager Joerg Schaldach. .
“Right now we have a lot of coronavirus cases, which is obviously highly unusual,” Schaldach said.
“We have twice as many deaths as before. Of course, people also die from other causes such as heart failure and circulatory failure, but people who die from coronavirus are additional and are a 100% increase. In fact, the mortality rate has doubled.
The crematorium has a dozen workers, who usually work a two-shift system Monday through Friday. Now, employees are being forced to spend more time, Schaldach said.
“We’re working 24 hours a day, Monday through Sunday,” he said. “That way, we can handle the dead and incinerate them as soon as possible.”
People are no longer allowed to visit their loved ones at the hospital, “and they can no longer hold hands when they die,” Schaldach said.
“All you get is a call: ‘deceased,'” he added. “A farewell to the coffin is not possible. All you get is an urn. This is the problem facing closest relatives, who have to “It’s a very, very difficult process for people to send a loved one and get the person back in a ballot box.”
In all, Germany has reported more than 2 million cases of coronavirus and 45,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
But Saxony did not take on the weight of the first wave, according to City Council member Ute Czeschka.
“I think we almost didn’t have a first wave in Saxony,” Czeschka said.
“There were hardly any cases of coronavirus from last March until the summer and people got used to it. That’s how we started the fall and winter season. People did not experience it first hand and relaxed accordingly. Ultimately, this wave overwhelmed us. “
With publishing cables