Funeral directors have voice their concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) as they work through the coronavirus pandemic.
Terry Tennens, chief executive of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, warned that a lack of supplies could see funeral homes close if staff get sick.
Mr Tennens warned this could lead to bodies not being collected.
Under current guidelines released by the UK Government, funeral directors should wear protective equipment, including masks, gloves, aprons and eye protection, while dealing with someone who may have died with Covid-19.
Dean Thomas, managing director of Caerphilly Funeral Services, said: “We have very little PPE despite promises.
“We are finding that there is uncertainty over who has Covid-19, as so few people have been tested. There is no alternative but to treat anybody with symptoms as actually having the virus. This is to safeguard our staff and people coming into the funeral home.
“We are still working as flexibly as we can under the circumstances and within the social distancing rules. We are still offering to bring the hearse home on the day of the service and operating with full teams on funerals despite roughly half of our staff being unavailable.
“We are offering to arrange memorial services to all families who have used our services with no fee from ourselves.”
Speaking about the changes to funerals as the outbreak unfolds, Mr Thomas said: “There are no church services as the churches will not hold them, and councils are imposing a maximum of ten people in their crematoria.
“Limousines are available as a last resort – but with only three passenger seats in the very rear row being used and only for people from the same household.
“Viewing is open to people from the same household, and all arrangements are by telephone, FaceTime or email.”
But despite the changes, Mr Thomas said the company is “continuing as much as we can” to operate as normal.
Welsh Government said: “We are aware of some issues relating to the distribution of PPE for funeral directors and are working to resolve them as soon as possible.”
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