[custom_adv] The world is gearing up for the coronavirus. “Preppers” are stocking sterile gloves and cans of beans. Musicians are postponing long-anticipated concerts. And funeral directors are cleaning out their refrigerators. [custom_adv] The novel disease has infected 89,000 and killed 3,048 people worldwide, mostly in mainland China. At the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan, funeral directors “have only been sleeping two to three hours a day,” according to Taiwan News. [custom_adv] In Hong Kong, there’s a looming coffin shortage after the Chinese government ordered factories to suspend operations to stop the virus from spreading, according to the South China Morning Post. [custom_adv] In the United States, the situation is hardly so dire. There are at least 74 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Public health officials announced the nation’s first five coronavirus-related deaths, all in Washington state. But as the disease continues to spread, funeral directors will be part of the response. [custom_adv] Coronavirus “has the potential to be very serious, but we’re at a time when it can be dealt with better than at any other time [in history],” says Joseph Stone of Bring Funeral Home in Tucson, Arizona.
