Coronavirus: Aircraft hangers could be used to store up to 1,480 victims
Relatives of the dying face the prospect of not being able to attend funerals of loved ones if they are ill or self-isolating.
Saturday 4 April 2020 15:02, UK
Footage shot inside a disused airbase shows how aircraft hangers are being prepared to store the bodies of up to 1,480 coronavirus victims.
The film shows racks of plastic sheeting supported by scaffolding poles surrounded by air conditioning units.
Three hangers have been designated for use during the pandemic.
Oxfordshire County Council said in a statement: "In common with all other areas of the country, there are longstanding contingency plans to provide extra mortuary space during emergency situations.
"Partners from organisations including the NHS, registration services, Coroner's office and local authorities have been meeting regularly to consider requirements that may be placed upon Oxfordshire during the Coronavirus outbreak.
"This has led to a temporary facility being prepared at the former RAF base at Heyford Park, which will be used if required."
Two more large temporary morgues have just been erected in London, which has seen a third of all COVID-19-related deaths in the UK.
One in Ruislip, west London, has room for 1,200 bodies and accepted 100 on Wednesday, as hospitals try to keep their own mortuaries free for those who die on their wards.
As the death rate increases, funerals are being fast-tracked and relatives of the dying face the prospect of not being able to attend if they themselves are ill or self-isolating.
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Already under the new Coronavirus law, only close relatives are allowed to attend funerals.
Friends are barred, unless there are no relatives.
When her father David Briggs died recently, the writer Anne Atkins found a novel way to celebrate his life with the many family and friends who could not join her.
She and her musician son Ben Atkins asked dozens of them to record themselves, isolated in their own homes, singing and playing a special anthem.
Ben, a bassist, then dubbed their individual performances together to create an orchestra and choir performance of the traditional tune he had arranged, and for which his mother wrote the words.
Only four of the family could attend the cremation, but they held a ceremony around his late wife Mary's grave, and live-streamed it to those who could not be there - and uploaded (He'll Soon Come to Call Me): Music in a Time of Coronavirus" on YouTube.
Mr Atkins said: "The emotionality I experienced upon completing this project is exactly how I would have expected to feel after the funeral.
"It was a testament to how much my grandfather meant to so many people and determination that we will not be beaten by this thing."
Anne Atkins said: "What we did was completely different to what we envisaged.
"My father had planned his funeral really meticulously and this was totally different, but it was everything we could do under the circumstances and that felt very fitting and very right and enough.
"It felt really fulfilling."
The Atkins family hope their anthem will be an inspiration to others, and want to encourage people to find their own ways around a lonely funeral.