Mortuary suppliers have told BBC News they have no stocks of standard body bags left for sale, blaming stockpiling due to the coronavirus pandemic for the shortage.The NHS says it currently has adequate stocks but health workers report having to wrap bodies in sheets.And there was no specific need for body bags to be used to transport these corpses, although"there may be other practical reasons for their use".
The company has, however, increased the availability of polythene bags, known as body pouch bags, and urged any hospital or trust struggling with supplies to contact it. NHS trusts and funeral directors were desperate for the bags and"horrified" by the official advice it was safe not to use them, it said.The bags it sells are made in China but it said it took six weeks to ship them to the UK and air freighting them was prohibitively expensive.The supplier also said it was unable to keep up with the desperate demand form funeral directors for personal protective equipment and the whole industry was worried about how to cope with current death rates.
Bloody Hell 😢
Lies!
Just think of how many people aren’t receiving a visit from licence enforcers during this crisis although even after lockdown they were still sending out letters inviting themselves around. Then you’re surprised BBC spreads fear?
More pisspoorjournalism from the BBC
Hang on, if you produce body bags you need a smack round the head if you didn't see the virus as a massive opportunity to make some cash.
The BBC must be the worst news in the planet
mikeymikedoha Well no worries the US Federal government have had 50 million stockpilled since 911. Only available in black.
I wonder If Hancock will appeal to the great British public to make more BODY BAGS highlighting the amount of people dying because of their lack of competence?
Ooh nice scaremongering! Just phone your daddy Trump he will sort the pathetic condition of your state out. Oh no... I forgot you put big hate on bad orange man! Wahhhhhhhhh
Oh Jesus Christ. Just use bin bags and stop complaining.
Perhaps we could use bin bags - you know like our nurses have to.
Keep it up you scaremongering BBC imbeciles. You have this one opportunity to redeem yourself and you're not even trying.
Give us some good new for Gods sake BBC! You are the merchants of doom during a crisis and frankly you make people unnecessarily anxious.
Another negative story about something running out. When will the media focus on some of the positive stories from covid -19
BBC Panic 'An NHS Supply Chain spokeswoman said it had an adequate stock of body bags and was expecting more to arrive soon. Industry body the British Plastics Federation said UK plastics companies were stepping in to help ..... it had not received any requests for body bags'
Why is the BBC resorting to sensationalism and click bait? You're losing all credibility and respect. Your own article pulls apart your own headline.
Usual BBC create hysteria and negativity.
BBCWorld don't worry the Patel Carts will be patrolling the streets with 'Bring out your dead', sewn into a white sheet .
Non news!
No mention of where the UK sources its body bags from. Shall we refer to the article below published when we were assured by the government that the country had enough body bags for no a deal Brexit? Spoiler alert: they're sourced from the EU
Quick, let’s go panic buy body bags.
No they aren't..... Far far far more people due from other issues everyday than covid19. The week ending march 20 this year 10645 deaths.... The same week last year 10573..... 72 more deaths for the week.
You lot don’t half come out with some bollocks.
C’mon, surely our shut factories could me making these, with modified materials etc
Do we really need to know this?
I'm finding many media reports lack the precision they demand from others. Can you say exactly how many, explain what some means and give a %age to describe the exact situation. You are causing unwarranted concerns!
BBC scaremongering again
Cheerful news from the BBC news team again - anything positive to report
Cut all funding to the BBC give it to the NHS instead.
So the bags are made in china? It's about time this country started making its own supplies !!
daniellejade198
Jesus!! BBC, have you no moral threshold! Body bags really? Is really important for the public to know this grim piece of supply chain shortage? I’m truly starting to dislike the BBC each day more and more!
Is this the next”PPE shortage” story? 🤦🏻♂️
Pity Dyson doesnt make hoovers with bags then...
2018/19 excess deaths stood at over 23000,where was the outcry over this
When you’re dead, you don’t care if they wrap you in a body bag or a sheet. Leave it alone, PLEASE.
Look at the numbers from office of national statistics, compared to last years death toll is down
Oh shut the Fk up bbc !
Did the Neo liberals also outsource the making of them too. When all this is over, bring manufacture back to these shores.
So now you move from PPE to body bags
Well, Westminster believed that they could stop spreading the virus by telling people to wash their hands. I wonder why they didn’t start ordering body bags when they switched to plan B which was to to kill the all weak and poor people.
How when according to the office of national statistics deaths haven’t risen more than average ?
This is what happens when you listen to learning scientists in an experimental period of a pandemic. Your government is taking advice from experts who don't know. The blind leading the blind is not going to be pretty.
This has got to be fake news surely
This is so sad 😭
That advertising board should read Protect yourself and others from the BBC. What a headline to run. Where do you get the information from? Shock journalism at it's best.
Perhaps more appropriate to headline what the NHS say about this rather than a “supplier”. This is scaremongering at best. Poor journalism - but that is becoming the norm. Shame.
Real grim 😭😭💔
This was reported around 3 weeks ago. Makes you think how far behind the general public are from what is actually happening right now. Scary stuff
The military as 500,000 ready to go. More BBC lies.
Even during the raj
Not yet another panic story from the BBC! Looks like the same Project Fear team is in action again.
Where's the 'official' statement that body bags are running out? The BBC have merely posted a tweet, showing a picture of an advertising van saying protect yourself! This is probably why people in their droves are switching off BBC news.
Nowt like turning a crisis into a drama
Since nobody seems to have said it I will ITS CAUSE THE UNDERTAKERS RETURNED!
happy easter this for England on Easter Sunday
Heeding medical and scientific advice, balancing health against the business lobby, taking essential action when demanded by the increase in risk, NZ's Labour Govt saved lives, safeguarded hospitals from being swamped. UK's Govt is ignorant of process, driven by business greed.
Surely the govt could send an RAF plane or a BA plane out to China for supplies?
Put me outwith the blue wheely bin (on a Monday) if they want.😁
The BBC's contribution to the COVID-19 pandemic has been to provide box sets of decades old series, postpone the cancellation of fees for over 75s, undermind the govt, especially Boris, and ramp up the fear as they did over BREXIT. Thanks.
Here we go again finding another negative story to report on,must be nothing good to report.
More BBC tripe Give the licence fee to the NHS
I smell bullshit
ToryFibs No difficult questions to the tory ministers now BBC - you have been warned (BBC: enemy of the people)
Fuck British CUNY people
Bollocks!
igeldard “Fake” crisis produces shortage of body bags!
Sure thing, Beeb. 🙄
We had more deaths last year at this time. It’s because morticians and hospitals are stock piling them.
It is a truly dire time
Bet the BBC is not running of TV licenses is it? Gobshites
Stop inciting panic
Shouldn't we all be using less plastic bags anyway? How soon people forget
Great fucking story. Why not just give this one a miss, hey
Look don’t worry about it. If it gets to the point you need a body bag but they’re out of stock, it’s probably not the worst thing that’s happened to you that day.
well then make more of them, jesus christ, why is making of trivial stuff like bags or masks such an issue for our 'developed nations' which can lauch rockets into space but not make some masks, hazart suits or friggin plastic bags, I really don't get it, thats infuriating.
Weren't they for Brexit? I suppose they are going to reorder.
Bullshit
Unnecessary
That has to be the biggest lie ever told by the BBC? Deaths are no worse than a normal Flu season. ScrapTheTVLicence
The indignity of it, you die of a virus related and they can’t even spare a black zip lock bag for your mortal remains..Great Britain 1st world economy, 1st class healthcare, lousy afterlife service...thank god I have a load of Iceland bags I can be wrapped up in, COVID19 GMB
NHS procurement managers shitting themselves now and panic buying body bags - you couldn't make this up especially as the UK weekly death rate hasn't hit January's high of 14,000
Why do you need to publish constant articles about shortages etc completely unnecessary
Give your shit a break.
Pure scaremongering you article destroys your headline NHS has stock and there is no specific need for bags to be used it states
ToryFibs Bullshit story. Average deaths in UK for this week have not risen.
Maybe it was panic buying like toilet rolls Obviously a junior reporter has written this on the night shift What next will the BBC come up with
Come back when you have a headline on something we are not running out of!!
Really should unfollow this shit
What a surprise we cant serpley shit
Use bin bags then. If you can get them. What a load of nonsense for the BBC
Why is this news?
Ffs, any bags will do, this is such a non story created solely for scaremongering purposes
Why don’t you make more?
Same old story. Union decides that it’s members need something over and above what’s necessary then complains that the thing they don’t need isn’t available. Wankers.
BBC a disgrace end license fee now
What utter crap. At the end of March the TOTAL deaths in the UK including coronavirus was at about the average for recent years. There would be no reason whatsoever for a shortage of body bags.
Why are there so many comments on here insinuating that this is a lie? Strange.
johnmerro1 Could you find anything else to try and create pani, fear and anxiety?
Bloody hell. More gutter press.
Well that’s ok, MattHancock will just have them use one of the many that are stockpiled, once he sorts out his logistics issues. And once it’s been established that he’s a little lie bag, he’ll just make them use black bin liners from B&M like the NHS use for PPE. AbsoluteJoke
Appalling journalism. Utterly embarrassing. UK deaths are not higher than any other average month. If they are running out it has NOTHING to do with coronavirus deaths.
Fake news BBC mischief making again
The UK military/Nato doesn't have body bags?
UK press close to questioning murder policy of BorisJohnson
I'v not seen anything on the news about the new Nightingale hospital in the docklands,why?
Why the hell would the public need to know that statistic, tell the politicians by all means