Romania’s Orthodox Church has offered hospital chapels as morgues in Bucharest as morgues struggle to cope with the high numbers of virus deaths,
The Bucharest Archbishopric said it would make available outside chapels at hospitals and chapels at cemeteries to help with rising number of deaths, News.ro reported.
On Saturday, Romania reported 427 fatalities, with a seven-day average of
There were 15,261 new Covid-19 infections on Saturday, the lowest figure in five days. Bucharest posted 2,800, almost 20% of the caseload.
Most hospitals in Romania have an Orthodox chapel, which is the predominant denomination in the country of 19 million.
The church said it decided to step in “as a result of the dramatic escalation of the situation” in hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.
It said that there wasn’t enough space in the capital’s morgues to cope with the crisis, the church said in a statement on Saturday evening.
The archbishopric “expresses its solidarity with institutions and medical authorities … facing the toughest challenge of the pandemic so far. It appreciated the efforts of medics and all healthcare staff who are fighting to save the lives.
UPDATE | Romanian Orthodox bishop dies after contracting Covid-19
