Hong Kong is storing bodies in shipping containers as morgues overflow amid Covid surge

Hong Kong has resorted to a desperate measure to store bodies as its morgues are overwhelmed due to rising deaths from a spiralling Omicron surge.

Bodies are being stored in shipping containers as Hong Kong's morgues are overwhelmed during a deadly Omicron surge. Pictures: AFP

Workers wearing full personal protective equipment have been seen placing bodies of coronavirus victims into refrigerated shipping containers in Hong Kong this week, as the city’s morgues run out of space from a deadly Omicron surge.

In less than three months since the highly transmissible variant broke through, Hong Kong has recorded nearly a million infections and more than 4600 deaths – the bulk of them from the city’s unvaccinated elderly population.

It has followed warnings that low vaccination rates among elderly people suspicious of vaccines left Hong Kong exposed if a Covid variant breached its tight controls, the Financial Times reported.

A funeral industry representative told local media the soaring death toll had depleted the city’s coffins supply, with only 300 remaining and expected to be gone by this weekend.

Workers move the body of a deceased Covid-19 patient from a truck into a refrigerated container at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary in Hong Kong on March 16. Picture: Dale de la Rey/AFP

The shipping containers have been used to store bodies while Hong Kong’s morgues are at maximum capacity. Picture: Dale de la Rey/AFP

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam acknowledged the supply issues during a press conference on Wednesday, and said two more shipments of coffins will arrive in Hong Kong from the mainland soon.

“I learned from the Food and Health Bureau last night that they are endeavouring to arrange transportation [of coffins] by water,” she said.

She added officials have been trying to help families concerned about post-mortem affairs, including how to retrieve bodies already transported to public morgues without a doctor issuing a death certificate.

“We will try to find a way for the family to take the body back so that they can arrange the funeral soon. The crematoriums … have also been working day and night at full capacity,” Ms Lam said.

Hong Kong is on the verge of running out of coffins as morgues are overwhelmed. Picture: Peter Parks/AFP

The refrigerated containers set up outside the Fu Shan Public Mortuary in Hong Kong on March 16. Picture: Dale de la Rey/AFP

Outside Fu Shan Public Mortuary on Wednesday, workers in full PPE moved bodies covered in black tarps from a truck into rows of shipping containers.

Researchers estimate the current virus infection rate in Hong Kong is significantly higher than official figures, likely already reaching half its 7.4 million population.

Ms Lam has taken hits from all sides on her handling of the crisis, with her administration blamed for the spiralling deaths and unclear messaging about a potential lockdown and mass testing.

Chinese social media users have reacted angrily in the past few days, saying the spread of Covid in the mainland is due to Hong Kong’s sluggish epidemic response.

Tens of millions of people in mainland China were abruptly placed under stay-at-home orders this week, after the emergence of more than 3000 new daily cases as Beijing battles to maintain its zero-Covid strategy.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks about the city’s spiralling Covid-19 situation at a press conference on March 14. Picture: May Tse/AFP

A temporary isolation facility for Covid-19 patients set up in the San Tin area of Hong Kong, with the Chinese city of Shenzhen in the horizon, on March 16. Picture: Dale de la Rey/AFP

In nearby Shenzhen, all 17.5 million residents were locked down on Monday after an Omicron flare-up in factories and neighbourhoods linked to Hong Kong.

After photos emerged of maskless Hong Kong residents sunning at a beach – which drew vitriol from Shenzhen’s netizens – authorities announced on Wednesday that government-managed beaches will be cordoned off starting on Thursday.

“As we see a surge of people going to beaches, we have to take appropriate measures in order … to reduce the public’s movements to ensure safety,” Ms Lam told reporters.

This new measure adds to Hong Kong’s already strict distancing rules, including wearing masks while hiking and a ban on gatherings of more than two.

The embattled leader, whose job is up for grabs in a few months, has so far declined to say if she will run for another term.

The selection process was postponed to May because of the wave of Covid cases, and any further postponement would be up to Beijing, Ms Lam said.