Local authorities could be forced to bury victims of the coronavirus pandemic in mass graves, academics say.
The UK’s death services are not equipped to deal with the surge in fatalities which could result from the crisis, according to the group from the University of Huddersfield.
They predict that if death rates among those infected with Covid-19 reach even 1% - the lower end of expectations - funeral and bereavement services could become overwhelmed.
This may cause bottlenecks in issuing death certificates, providing funeral services and even mortuary space.
Limited cemetery space could also become a major problem, leading to the possibility of mass graves.
The paper’s authors, Dr Julia Meaton, Dr Anna Williams and researcher Helen-Marie Kruger, acknowledge this would be “highly controversial and would upset and anger many communities”.
"The personal tragedy and loss will be unquantifiable,” they wrote.
It comes as work starts to turn part of Birmingham Airport into a temporary mortuary with space for at least 1,500 bodies.
The airport, which is providing land and a hangar for the facility, is next to the city’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC), which is the possible site for a temporary field hospital.
West Midlands Police have said the morgue’s capacity will have “scope to expand” as the UK braces for the epidemic’s peak.
The region has been hit with a large number of cases and is the worst affected in the UK after London.
The paper - called Pandemic Continuity Planning; will coronavirus test local authority business plans? - is published in the Emergency Management Review.
It examines the ability of an unnamed council in northern England, with a population of nearly half a million, to manage excess deaths resulting from a pandemic.
The authority conducts an estimated 3,000 cremations and 500 burials in an average year.
The researcher’s analysis found that if fatality rates get to 1%, services in the area would be overwhelmed, with several hundred extra bodies to manage each week.
It could take as little as four or five weeks for burial and cremation services to be stretched beyond capacity.
“The impact of such an increase from normal levels will mean that the authorities will struggle to maintain death registrations and disposals that will potentially have serious consequences,” they wrote.
“Practically, not being able to register a death or obtain a death certificate will mean that disposal cannot take place.
“There will be a bottleneck of burials and cremations, causing ceremonies to be delayed with mortuaries filled beyond capacity.
“Families will be prevented from closing bank accounts, pensions, selling property or receiving insurance, which could have financial implications.”
The problem could be exacerbated by shortages of staff and supplies, a lack of storage and cemetery space and difficulties in predicting the rate at which deaths will occur.
They concluded: “In a pandemic situation, there is likely to be a necessary change to the 'business as usual' death and bereavement management services.
“How humanely these are managed is hugely important for those affected at the time of crisis and the humanity of the Government's response will reflect the nature and values of our society, and will be judged accordingly.”
