Bodies pile up at hospitals and mortuaries struggle to find space as Covid-19 deaths climb in Hong Kong

City’s mortuaries have already tripled their capacity but are running out of room to handle the dozens of residents who are dying daily

‘The medical system is completely overwhelmed,’ says David Chan from the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance

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The mortuary at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 7:00am, 28 Feb 2022

The bodies of residents who died from Covid-19 are being stored on gurneys in hallways or beds inside accident and emergency departments at public hospitals as mortuaries approach capacity in Hong Kong.

David Chan Kwok-shing, a representative of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance, on Sunday said he heard that in some cases, a body remained in an A&E unit for a day before finally being transferred to the hospital’s mortuary, which was already full.

“The medical system is completely overwhelmed,” Chan said.

Covid-19 patients wait at a temporary holding area at Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan on Saturday. Photos: Sam Tsang

Dr Albert Au Ka-wing, principal medical and health officer at the Centre for Health Protection, revealed three public mortuaries had reached 90 per cent capacity in the past week as an exponential rise in infections brought a record number of deaths.

The Fu Shan Public Mortuary in Tai Wai, Kwai Chung Public Mortuary and Victoria Public Mortuary in Kennedy Town had increased capacity from a total of 506 bodies to 1,350, but were all rapidly filling up, he said.

Since the fifth wave began in late December, Hong Kong has logged 158,683 cases, taking the total for the entire pandemic to 171,214. Health officials reported 83 Covid-related deaths on Sunday alone, taking the total to 727.

Dr Lau Ka-hin, the authority’s chief manager of quality and standards, conceded that transporting bodies from hospitals to mortuaries was proving difficult.