Cold stores full! Dresden no longer knows what to do with the corona bodies

Cold stores full! Dresden no longer knows what to do with the corona bodies

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An employee of the Dresden municipal funeral service sees the effects on a daily basis. In the Tolkewitz crematorium everything is slowly getting out of hand, he says.

Dresden – With the Corona infections the number of deaths is also increasing dramatically. As early as mid-November, around nine percent more people died across Germany than the average in previous years. For Saxony the numbers are even more depressing, the mortality rate was 46 percent higher.

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And since the beginning of the month it has been getting worse. An employee of the Dresden municipal funeral service sees the effects on a daily basis. So everything is slowly getting out of hand in the Tolkewitz crematorium, he says. We are talking about overcrowded cold rooms, alternative garages without cooling, coffins that have to be stacked in the corridor and entrance area.

The employee wants to remain anonymous, fears for his job, but sends pictures to support his statements. “The four ovens in the crematorium ran around the clock at times,” he asserts. “A night shift was introduced, otherwise the situation would no longer be mastered.”

Then two out of four ovens broke. “There is simply not enough space, more and more deceased people are being brought in. The fleet of vehicles is to be driven out of the garages so that there is room for coffins. We are extremely overloaded.”

The responsible mayor, Eva Jähnigen (55, Greens), comments on TAG24. Accordingly, the number of deceased who are brought to Tolkewitz has been increasing for several weeks. So far, however, you could still manage that.

“At the beginning of this week, the deliveries by undertakers from Dresden and the surrounding districts increased to more than a hundred deceased every day,” said Jähnigen. “That is about twice as many people who die every day than usual.”

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She confirms the failure of two ovens, one has been repaired. “However, the fourth kiln line will probably only be functional again in the new year.”

But even if all the ovens worked, you wouldn’t be able to keep up. According to reports, the facility can only burn around 260 dead per week. “That is why the city’s funeral service is constantly looking into other options for storing coffins.”

The mayor confirms that there are halls in use that do not have their own cooling system. “For such a short-term interim use, a temperature below 10 degrees must be given, which is given in the rooms and halls.”

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Alternatives are currently being examined, including with partners in the surrounding districts, “since the Dresden crematorium will probably no longer be able to cushion the situation on its own,” says Jähnigen. Yesterday, Friday reported alone Dresden 554 new corona cases.

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