AUSTIN, Texas — The strain COVID-19 is putting on Texas funeral homes has commercial embalmers that service the funeral home industry busier than ever. Many were prepared for a potential overflow situation, they just never actually thought they’d have to resort to that plan.
“Last night we picked up three - we’ve already picked up two today and this shift’s not over so it would be very easy that we would get two or three more,” said Mike Rains, general manager of Capital Mortuary Services in Austin.
To say Rains has been swamped would be an understatement. Even with decades of mortuary experience under his belt, the COVID-19 pandemic has him caring for more bodies than he’s ever dealt with before.
“We have client places that are running out of room and they need a little extra storage,” said Rains. “We’ve had one of the hospitals contact us for extra storage.”
According to Rains, those bodies can be in his possession anywhere from days to weeks. It all depends on the ability of families to make funeral arrangements, schedule visitations, in addition to all of the permits and paperwork required of each descendent.
Doctors have been good about trying to get in touch quickly with Rains to provide a cause of death, to help more quickly process burial-transit permits. Depending on what Rains is being asked to do with the body, the process can take even longer.
“Burials and so forth, they can go through a little bit easier because there is a way to go and retrieve the body if needed later,” said Rains. “With cremation of course, you don’t have that option.”
Rains was proactive in planning for a possible overflow scenario. Back when COVID-19 cases were just beginning to surge in March, Rains reached out to a refrigerated trucking company. The company had already run out of 20-foot trailers, so Rains took whatever he could get his hands on and ended up with a 40-foot refrigerated trailer, just so he could be prepared.
“We’ve had it for three months, and in this second surge is when we’ve had to start using it,” said Rains. “For the last two weeks we had been housing bodies, but then we finally slowed down again. But today it’s started to pick up again, so I may have to restart the truck.”
He did end up having to restart the truck. Rains and his team have been taking zero chances when picking up COVID-19-positive bodies; suiting up in personal protective gear from head-to-toe and double gloving to ensure they’re not making any contact.
“We have I think seven or eight in-house now that are COVID-positive for sure. And then several that are just possibilities, so you treat them as if they are,” said Rains.
COVID-19-positive bodies are double wrapped in plastic and marked with red tape to make sure employees are aware.
So far, Rains and his employees have all remained COVID free. Their concerns over contracting the virus aren’t so much with the dead, but rather the living who they’re being forced to interact with while picking up another body.