Covid-19: Makeshift mortuary at Woodhall Spa used for first time

The mortuary is on the site of a former RAF station in Woodhall Spa

A temporary mortuary on a former RAF site is being used for the first time after an "unprecedented" number of deaths.

The site at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire was created during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 300 deaths were recorded in the county in the week from 9 December, double the 2019 rate.

The Bishop of Grantham, Dr Nicholas Chamberlain, said the building was "prepared with huge respect".

The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, which co-ordinates action between public bodies, said the move was necessary due to there being "less capacity at crematoria over the next fortnight".

Sara Barry, chair of the mortality planning cell, which is part of the group, said over the past three weeks they had seen "unprecedented levels of deaths" in Lincolnshire.

'Huge respect'

The majority of the excess deaths were due to Covid, she said.

She added anyone taken to the temporary mortuary, which can accommodate up to 500 people, would be treated with the "same levels of care, dignity and respect" they would otherwise receive.

Bishop Chamberlain visited the site last week and said it had been prepared with "huge respect and huge understanding of the dignity of those who have died".

He added: "I have met some of the staff and I came away obviously sobered by what I saw but actually filled with a sense of how well Lincolnshire has done this to care for the people of our county."

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 879 people in Lincolnshire have died within 28 days of contracting coronavirus, government figures show.

Five deaths were recorded on Monday.

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