Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the higher death toll, crematoria in the Czech Republic are facing a burning problem. Most of them do not catch up. For example, the České Budějovice crematorium had to start multi-shift operation. It burns up to twice as many bodies a day.
“The situation is definitely worse than normal. We are going on a three-shift operation,” Kateřina Vrbová, director of the Funeral Institute of the City of České Budějovice, told TN.cz
A higher number of incinerations is also associated with a higher number of ceremonies. These are now held in České Budějovice up to ten times a day. “During normal operation, we performed about ten burns a day. Now we do about twenty-five of them,” Vrbová added.
Most of the survivors, however, bury their loved ones without ceremony. Approximately 150 burns are performed per month in the Jihlava crematorium. “According to our statistics, the number without ceremonial burns has recently increased. We attribute this to the fears and security measures during the funerals themselves,” said Martin Málek, spokesman for the Jihlava City Service.
“I was afraid that people would get infected there. In addition, it was supposed to be in veils, so I thought it was indecent towards my father,” explained Mrs. Kateřina from Třebíč, whose father recently died.
The Ostrava crematorium also has problems. Funeral services transported several times more dead there than in normal situations. The crematorium therefore decided to build outdoor body freezers.
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