Run-down funeral home owners find it difficult to digest that the coronavirus outbreak has led to a “horrific” increase in demand for their services. 

Reuters investigated 18 funeral houses across Mexico’s capital city. Their findings revealed that government statistics on the official death toll may be misleading, leaving funeral parlours unprepared for the catastrophe ahead. Hence, owners like Salvador Ascencio claimed that they did not believe the virus was going to have such severe repercussions. 

Funeral homes overwhelmed

Another funeral parlour owner, J. Garcia Lopez, told Reuters that his parlour had experienced a 40% rise in funeral services during early May, in Mexico City in comparison to last year, while some even went onto revealing a 70% spurge. 

However, the Mexican government has accepted that the real rate of mortality far outperforms the current tally of 5,666 deaths across the country, but they also explicate their lack of resources to conduct accurate surveys; Mexico tends to possess the lowest testing record among other nations in the OECD trading bloc.

Also read: Italian woman wins Picasso painting worth 1 Million Euros in lucky draw