MEISSEN, Germany (AP) – The coffins are stacked three high in the gloomy memorial hall of the Meissen crematorium, stacked in empty offices and stored in corridors. Many are sealed with plastic packaging, others are labeled ‘risk of infection’, ‘urgent’ or just ‘COVID’.
A spate of coronavirus deaths in this corner of East Germany has boosted matters for crematorium manager Joerg Schaldach and his staff, but no one is celebrating.
“The situation is a bit tense at the moment,” Schaldach said when another funeral director pulled up outside.
The crematorium would typically have 70 to 100 crates on site at this time of year when flu season is taking its toll on the elderly.
“It is normal for more people to die in winter than in summer,” said Schaldach. “That has always been the case.”
Now he has 300 bodies waiting to be cremated, and dozens are delivered every day to the modernist building on a hill overlooking Meissen, an old town better known for its delicate porcelain and impressive Gothic castle.
On Monday, the Meissen province again took the unwanted lead in the COVID-19 tables in Germany, with an infection rate three times the national average. The state of Saxony, where Meissen is located, comprises six of the 10 most affected provinces in Germany.
Schaldach says the crematorium is doing its best to meet the demand, firing the double ovens every 45 minutes and managing 60 cremations per day.
“The ashes still end up in the right urn,” he said.
But while staff would normally try to make sure the deceased looks good for family members to say their final goodbyes, the infection rules now mean that COVID victims’ chests must be kept closed all the time, making the whole process for those involved. even more difficult.
“It’s our business, we’ve been through death many, many times,” said Schaldach. “The problem we see is that the grieving family members need our help. And right now, there is a greater need for words of comfort because they gave their deceased loved one to the ambulance and never see them again. “
Some have linked Saxony’s high contagion rate to broader anti-government sentiment in a state where more than a quarter voted for the far-right Alternative for Germany party in the last national elections. Lawmakers have objected to the need to wear masks, restrictions on the gathering of people and the closure of stores. Some have even flatly denied the existence of a pandemic.
Other commentators have pointed to the state’s high number of elderly people and its reliance on nursing home workers from the neighboring Czech Republic, where COVID-19 infections are even higher.
Officials in Meissen, including the head of the district administration, the local doctors’ association and the legislature representing the region in parliament, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, all declined to be interviewed about the situation.
Saxony’s Governor Michael Kretschmer acknowledged in a recent interview with Freie Presse that he had underestimated the impact of the pandemic on his state and paid too much attention to those calling for businesses and schools to be kept open.
A video of Kretschmer talking to anti-lockdown protesters outside his home ends Sunday as he walks away after a person wore a mask resembling Germany’s imperial war flag, a symbol favored by far-right extremists.
Schaldach, the crematorium manager, says most people in Saxony accept the rules. But he too has read comments about brand reports on social media about bodies piling up at his crematorium as fake news.
“Those who believe in conspiracy theories cannot be helped. We don’t want to argue with them, ”he told The Associated Press. “They have their beliefs and we have our knowledge.”
Down in Meissen the streets are empty, devoid of the usual tourists or even the hustle and bustle of the locals.
Franziska Schlieter runs a gourmet shop in the historic city center, one of the few that is allowed to remain open during the lockdown. Her shop, run by five generations of her family, is maintained by a trickle of regulars who buy lottery tickets and gift baskets.
“In the Bible, God has sent plagues to people when they don’t behave,” said Schlieter, who believes it was a mistake to ease the Christmas lockdown. “Sometimes I think about that.”
On the cobbled square, Matthias Huth takes care of a lone food truck outside his shuttered restaurant. He defends those who have questioned the government’s COVID-19 restrictions, but says skepticism should not justify denial.
“The conversations are starting to change,” Huth said, commanding a dish of chopped black pudding, sauerkraut and mash, known locally as “Dead Grandma.” “Everyone wants it to be over.”
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Kerstin Sopke contributed to this report.
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