No funerals planned, or cancelled, today

No funerals were planned for today and therefore none were cancelled, the Health Division said in a statement this afternoon. None are, so far, planned for tomorrow except that of a person who passed away at Mt Carmel Hospital.

The division said eight funerals were held yesterday, which was unusual for a Sunday.

It was commenting on the strike ordered by the Public Transport Federation, which included the owners of hearses.

The division said there are currently 12 corpses in the mortuary at Mater Dei Hospital. They are being kept in freezers and the officers in charge have been contacting the relatives about funeral arrangements.

The mortuary can take up to 54 corpses and measures are in place for all corpses to be kept in a good state.

The division said it was closely following developments in the public transport strike, and should it continue in the coming days, it was prepared for any eventuality.

“The public health laws give various powers to the government to act should there be a threat to public safety,” the department said.