Workers at a German crematorium are resorting to stacking coffins on top of each other as the country struggles with a new wave of coronavirus deaths during an intense second wave of the pandemic.
The crematorium in the city of Meissen, in the eastern state of Saxony, began to feel the impact in November, when coronavirus-related deaths began to increase at an unexpected rate, according to crematorium manager Joerg Schaldach.
“We have a lot of coronavirus cases at the moment, which is obviously very unusual,” said Schaldach.
“We have twice as many deaths as before. Of course, people also die from other causes, such as heart and circulatory failure, but those who die from coronavirus are extra and represent a 100% increase. In fact, the death rate has doubled. “
The crematorium has a dozen workers, who normally work in a two-shift system from Monday to Friday. Now, employees are forced to spend more time, Schaldach said.
“We are working 24 hours a day, Monday through Sunday,” he said. “In this way, we can deal with the dead and cremate them as quickly as possible.”
People can no longer visit their loved ones at the hospital, “and you can no longer hold their hands while they die,” said Schaldach.
“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 that the closest relatives face, they have to deal with their pain. It is a very, very difficult process for people to send a loved one and put it back in an urn. “
In total, Germany has seen 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 was not impacted by the first wave, according to City Council member Ute Czeschka.
“I think we hardly had a first wave in Saxony,” said Czeschka.
“There were almost no cases of coronavirus from 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 firsthand and were relaxed accordingly. Ultimately, we were amazed by this wave ”.
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