On February 4, Connecting Directors shared the immediate impact the emerging novel coronavirus outbreak was having on Chinese deathcare professionals. Just three weeks later, the death toll has multiplied from 420 to 2,760. Plus, infections are up from about 20,000 cases to over 80,000 in about 35 countries. Markets are tanking, hundreds of thousands of people are in lockdown, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are in jeopardy. They’ve even shut down filming of the seventh Mission: Impossible movie in Italy.
But for funeral home workers, coronavirus is having an entirely different effect.
Hong Kong coffin shortage
The South China Morning Post reported on February 23 that funeral directors in Hong Kong are facing a coffin shortage. Hong Kong receives 99% of its coffins from manufacturers in neighboring Guangdong province. Unfortunately the Guangdong factories were closed on February 10 to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Hong Kong Funeral Business Association chairman Kwok Hoi-pong told the South China Morning Post that in the “worst-case scenario, stock could dry up in a week’s time.”
After an emergency meeting, government officials allowed manufacturers to ship their stock of 2,000 coffins to Hong Kong. Since then, four major coffin suppliers have restarted production, but with only one-third of their usual workforce.
If Guangdong can’t meet the demands, Kwok told the Post, the industry will consider sourcing coffins from sources in Southeast Asia. However, he said, those suppliers charge six times more for coffins than Guangdong manufacturers.
Death toll underreported?
The coronavirus is taking its toll on deathcare workers in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. One anonymous funeral home source told the Taiwan News that funeral home staff are sleeping only two or three hours a day and can’t meet the demand.
The source said on one day, February 3, her funeral home received 127 bodies. However, she said, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reported a much lower number that day. She said “coronavirus” was marked as the cause of death on only eight death certificates that day.
From this source’s figures, the Taiwan News estimated that the CCP is reporting only one-fourth the actual number of coronavirus-related deaths.
What can the US expect?
On Tuesday, February 25, federal health officials urged Americans to plan for disruptions caused by coronavirus.
“It’s not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but more really a question of when it will happen — and how many people in this country will have severe illness,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters. “We are asking the American public to work with us to prepare with the expectation that this could be bad.”
The CDC recommends that Americans take normal preventative precautions. These include washing your hands, staying home if you’re sick, and keeping your distance from others while you’re out.
The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is providing timely updates on a special NFDA News page. The latest post, added, February 26, 2020, reads:
NFDA has consulted with federal officials and embalming experts. At this time, they recommend that should an individual die from coronavirus, funeral home personnel who will come into contact with the body should use universal precautions. For more information, please see the CDC website with recommendations for healthcare providers – specifically, see section two, “Adherence to Standard, Contact, and Airborne Precautions, Including the Use of Eye Protection.”
