MONTREAL -- Quebec's funeral directors are hoping that the dignity of the deceased and importance of the mourning process won't be forgotten as the province copes with the COVID-19 crisis.

A spokesperson for the Quebec Corporation of Funeral Directors said funeral homes are overwhelmed, with some services being delayed because of a issues with the province's morgues.

“It has long been documented that the state of hospital morgues is outdated,” said the corporation's director general Anne Saint-Pierre. “The capacities are minimal.”

Saint-Pierre said part of the issue is that funeral homes can't take care of a deceased person's remains until mandated by a family member.

“Again, in certain practices, if the CHSLDs haven't even notified families of the death of a loved one, how do you expect them to mandate a funeral business?” she said.

The funeral directors also denounced the use of refrigerated containers as makeshift morgues in some hospitals and residential and long-term care centers that have been affected by the pandemic.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Services explained that establishments have been asked to include a component relating to the management of dead bodies in their plan to fight COVID -19, which includes, if necessary, the use of 'alternative refrigerated spaces'.

The CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, which serves the largest territory in the city, said the Lakeshore and LaSalle hospitals, as well as the Douglas Institute, have set up such temporary morgues, where the remains can be stored while awaiting collection by funeral homes.

Accordign to the funeral directors, the province normally records between 170 and 200 deaths on a daily basis but that number has gone up amid the pandemic, which has seen hundreds of deaths related to COVID-19 in Montreal alone over a matter of days.

Funeral director Patrice Chavegros of the Athos Group said he's seen a jump in demand of 50 per cent at some locations.

Funeral services are deemed an essential service by the Quebec government and commemorative ceremonies are permitted so long as they comply with social distancing measures. But some families have chosen to postpone their final farewells.

According to the National Institute of Public Health, open-casket funeral can't be held for those who perished due to COVID-19. Both cremation and burial are permitted, excepting mausoleums and aquamation is prohibited.

“There is no embalming or any care or even preparation of the body,” said Saint-Pierre.

According to the World Health Organization, transmission of the virus from corpses does not seem possible, except in cases where lungs are not handled properly. Stool may also represent a source of COVID-19 spread.

However, since funeral homes are not part of the health network, companies must equip their staffs with their own protective equipment. One union has called for their 350 members in the funeral industry to be supplied with N95 masks, visors and other equipment.