Cemetery crisis in Greece amid virus surge

Even after death, the families of COVID-19 victims suffer a new harrowing round of isolation in Thessaloniki, the city in Greece worst affected by the pandemic. Under rules set by city authorities, coronavirus victims are being buried separately from their loved ones in a separate section of the cemetery.

Greece suffered an alarming setback in late October when an eight-month run of low infections abruptly ended and hospital wards were pushed to capacity. Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city along with neighbouring areas in the north of the country, bore the brunt of the surge, for weeks reporting a higher daily number of infections than the capital Athens despite having roughly a quarter of the size of its population.

As infections climbed in the fall, the emergency rooms at hospitals was matched at two cemeteries in Thessaloniki where pandemic victims are buried, on plots of land where earthmovers are used keep rows of graves freshly dug to ensure that funerals are short.

Flimsy white crosses and small signs, made of plywood, mark each grave. An Orthodox Christian priest stands under a small black marquee to conduct services, while grave-diggers and pallbearers wearing white coveralls handle the funerals. Chrysanthi Botsari, 69, recently lost her 75-year-old husband to the coronavirus. He died alone in hospital.

"They didn't tell us where he would be buried," she said.

"They just said he can't be in the cemeteries with the others, because he has died from the coronavirus. This to me is unacceptable, unacceptable. Inhuman. All these people died alone, without help," she added.

Under Greek tradition, the remains are typically removed after three years of burial and taken to an ossuary, but under the new rules coronavirus victims must remain buried for 10 years. Senior local official Petros Trakas said the controversial burial measures were adopted after failing to get any guidance from the National Public Health Organization and he claimed large cemeteries in Athens were also burying coronavirus victims in separate sections.

Eleni Zagelidou, medical examiner of the forensic Service of Thessaloniki, said the new burial measures are excessive. "The use of two body bags and protective coating, as well as the fact that there's information that these people are to remain buried for 10 or 20 years, I think that's far removed from the reality of the situation," she said.