Woodhall Spa mortuary is still on ‘stand-by’

The mortuary, on part of the former site of RAF Woodhall Spa, was included in preparations by the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum for the ‘worst case scenarios’ involving the number of coronavirus fatalities.

Work at the site was only completed recently.

If hospital facilities had been overwhelmed during the opening weeks and months of the lockdown, it was hoped the site would have enabled those who died to be “treated with dignity and respect”.

However, the temporary mortuary has not been required.

Deputy Chief Officer at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Mark Baxter confirmed the 500 capacity facility was still in place.

Mr Baxter, a leading member of the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum, said: “Fortunately, we haven’t really needed that facility.

“We need to be mindful, however, that there is still slight uncertainty whether there’ll be a second wave of the virus.

“With that in mind, it’s only right that we still continue to have those contingency plans in place for us to be able to stand it up - as and when we have a need.

“If, in the future, we do need it (the mortuary) for the Covid-19 - or any other reason - then we know that we’ve got that facility available for the people of Lincolnshire.”

By and large, the virus has not had as big an impact locally as many experts had predicted.

At the time of Mr Baxter’s statement, the latest government statistics saw the number of official cases in Lincolnshire rise by 18 to a total of 1,061 people who had officially tested positive.

A total of 192 people who had tested positive for the virus had died, according to the official figures.

However, experts believe the numbers could be much higher than the official statistics say.

There has been no announcement about the cost of the work undertaken at the temporary mortuary - or what will happen to the facility once the ‘all clear’ has been officially announced by the Government.