The mayor of Bristol is hopeful the temporary mortuary at Sandy Park will not now be needed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Six temperature-controlled containers covered by a large gazebo that can store 240 bodies were installed earlier this month in anticipation of a huge increase in deaths.
But with the South West having the lowest number of Covid-19 cases in the country and the city’s hospitals only half-full of patients, optimism is growing that the temporary site at Bristol City Council’s vehicle depot in Brislington will no longer be required.
It was installed to cope with a worst-case scenario, increasing the capacity for people who have died in Bristol by almost two-thirds.
Speaking during a fortnightly media briefing on Wednesday (April 29), mayor Marvin Rees said: “That’s the good news. We do not have any immediate need to use Sandy Park at this time.
“We are within the capacity of our existing provision.
“Clearly there are pressures in the pipeline mainly around funeral directors managing to undertake their funerals and get people buried and cremated,
“But outside of that challenge let’s hope we can get through this crisis without needing to use it.”
When Mr Rees announced the new temporary mortuary three weeks ago, he said it was a “heartbreaking but necessary task to ensure our city is fully prepared in the next few weeks”.
Leaders from multiple faiths blessed the site in a ceremony.
Current mortuary storage capacity in Bristol, excluding funeral directors and the temporary morgue, is for 384 bodies.
