Parking lot in Barcelona turns into a coffin depot

Barcelona, April 16

Jordi Fernández’s 16-year-career as a mortician didn’t prepare him for the hundreds of bodies that are streaming into the Barcelona funeral home where he works. Many are victims of COVID-19, and Fernandez can’t truly do his job.

As head thanatopracticioner, Fernández is usually tasked with preparing the corpses for their funerals and give the deceased an appearance of peace and tranquility. But since a state of emergency was declared on March 14, funeral homes in Spain must follow strict measures to avoid further contagion, stripping Fernández of his normal duties and taking away the last chance families have of seeing their loved ones.

Now, infected corpses cannot be removed from their sealed body bags and are placed straight into coffins.

“I like to place their head on the pillow as that’s going to be forever,” he said. —AP