By Chantalé Fletcher
A MASS site for the storage of the bodies of Covid-19 patients is being prepared in Freeport.
This was one of the announcements made on Saturday at the Prime Minister’s press conference.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram said a team has been established under the Ministry of Health to look at the preparations for people dying from Covid-19 and any other cause.
Dr Parasram said, “Through the Funeral Homes Association and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, we are looking to establish a mass site for storage in the Freeport area, which should be coming on stream shortly and additional sites within different funeral agencies for storage.”
He added, “This was being done through the Ministry of Health, the Chief Public Health Inspector as well as the Director of Veterinary Public Health, which was a necessary step. However, it was one that we have been putting off from the Ministry of Health as long as we could.”
The daily Covid-19 death rate has been increasing with double digits being reported every day for the month of December.
On Saturday as the presser ended, the Ministry reported the most number of deaths for a day – 33. It also reported 956 new cases.
Funeral homes have been saying their workers and storage capacity were on a strain as a result of increasing deaths nationally.
“We are working with them as best as we can,” Dr Parasram said.
Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) will be signed off with the relevant stakeholders soon, he said.
Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh also announced that in some regional health authorities, medical care will have to be adjusted in non-Covid areas to make accommodations for Covid areas.
