Capitol News

Funeral home workers are taking precautions when moving bodies of individuals who died from COVID-19, because experts have said the virus can survive in the body after death. 

Funeral home workers are using personal protective gear, such as N95 masks, but much like hospitals, they are having a difficult time acquiring the protective materials they need, according to Bridge Michigan. 

“Everybody is kind of geared toward the hospitals, which I get. But we’re just as concerned that we're not going to be able to get the materials to keep us safe,” John Martenson Jr., owner of the Martenson Family of Funeral Homes, told Bridge Michigan. “If we get sick, I don’t see what good that will do for the community.”

In Michigan, most donations of personal protective gear go to hospitals, not funeral homes, which can present a challenge in acquiring the items needed. 

Tim Schramm, funeral director for Howe-Peterson Funeral Home, said when his staff runs out of materials, they make do with what they can. He said they use trash bags as full-body suits and safety goggles as face shields. 

“I am deathly afraid that somebody on my team here at the funeral home is going to get [COVID-19] from doing what we do,” Schramm told Bridge Michigan. “It would tear me apart inside, to know something like that happened … to somebody who is giving themselves to others.”