A refrigerated morgue truck has been deployed and put into operation in the Fraser Health region, the BC Coroners Service confirmed.
In an email Tuesday (Jan. 12), the agency said that there is a provincial working group that includes the province’s five health authorities that actively monitors mortuary capacity and works to “ensure plans are in place for potential increases in demand for storage.”
The morgue truck is part of that plan, the agency added.
“Although we are seeing a bit of a strain on the system, our plans are working as a result of the collaboration with Ministry of Health, BC Coroners Service and BC Funeral Home Association,” the coroners service said.
The province is dealing with two health crises; the COVID-19 pandemic which has killed 1,010 people, and the overdose crisis which led to at least 1,548 deaths in 2020, although December figures are not yet available.
READ MORE: 153 people died of drug overdoses in November in B.C.; deaths climb in seniors
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