Lancashire to build Covid mortuary for a second time

A temporary mortuary is once again being built in Lancashire in case it is required to cope with increased deaths as a result of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The facility will be constructed near Leyland on the car park of the Farington Environmental Education Centre at the Lancashire Enterprise Business Park.

It will have the capacity to hold 210 deceased individuals.

Back in April, a 1,000-capacity temporary morgue was established at the BAE Systems site at Warton in Fylde - but that was decommissioned in August without ever being brought into operation.

The temporary mortuary will be built at the Farington Environmental Education Centre (image: Google)The temporary mortuary will be built at the Farington Environmental Education Centre (image: Google)
The temporary mortuary will be built at the Farington Environmental Education Centre (image: Google)
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Lancashire County Council leader Geoff Driver said that he hopes history will repeat itself.

"I hope this facility will never need to be used and that we'll be able to cope without it as we did during the first wave of the pandemic.

"However, we can't predict what will happen over the winter and it's vital that we're prepared in order to ensure the deceased are treated decently and with respect.

"We have taken the Government up on the offer of having this facility on standby and, by siting it at the Environmental Education Centre, we can ensure it is secure and available for as long as we might need it at little cost.

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"The best way to reduce the numbers of deaths in Lancashire is for everyone to protect their community, the NHS and to follow the guidance during lockdown."

The county council is working with funeral directors across Lancashire to explain how the facility will work if it is needed.

The new facility will be established over the course of the next week. It will be made up of three mobile buildings of a type most commonly used to add capacity at hospitals.

Local authorities have been offered them by the government as part of the nationwide response to the pandemic.

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