Coronavirus: Dorset's temporary mortuaries put "on standby"

The facilities, at Poole port and in Dorchester, have been used “a handful of times” since they were opened last month in case of a large rise in cases.

But with the number of people infected now falling, the Dorset local resilience forum, which is overseeing the county’s response to the coronavirus, has decided they can be put on standby.

In the middle of last month, the two “mortality support facilities” were set up at Poole port and the Old Radio Station in Dorchester to increase capacity for storing bodies.

At the time, council leaders said the move was part of a duty to prepare for a worst case scenario.

And speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the chief executive of BCP Council, Graham Farrant, said the Poole mortuary had only had limited use.

“It has been used, due to personal circumstances and timing, and we intend to keep it in place for the next few months and monitor it and see,” he said.

“We will constantly keep it under review and of course there is talk nationally about a potential second spike and we are looking at that.”

On Friday, the local resilience forum announced it was putting the two facilities on standby with the ability for them to be reopened “within 72 hours” if they are needed again.

It follows a declining number of coronavirus infections in the county and nationwide.

But the leader of BCP Council, councillor Vikki Slade, has urged people to continue following advice on how to limit the spread of the disease.

“Although the temporary sites are standing down due to a decrease of deaths in the area, I would encourage our residents to continue to follow national guidance, including to self-isolate if you or your family are showing any symptoms,” she said.

The local resilience forum, which is made up of Dorset’s public sector organisations, has said it will continue monitoring the number of cases and related deaths to determine whether the mortuaries need to be “activated”.