Coronavirus: How Italian cities have dealt with rising demand for cremations

Country currently has world's highest death toll for Covid-19

An Italian army officer wearing a protective suit stands as a military vehicle drives in the Monumental Cemetery on March 26 in Bergamo (Emanuele Cremaschi / Getty Images)

Two Italian cities have adopted bold new measures as they struggle to keep up with growing demand for cremations during the coronavirus pandemic.

Both Milan and Bergamo – which sit in the northern Lombardy region plagued by the virus – have started doing things differently as they deal with their outbreaks.

Milan has temporarily banned non-residents from being cremated in the city, according to local media.

They will still be able to be buried in local cemeteries, Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.

The mayor, Giuseppe Sala, has signed an order allowing the city to just cremate its own residents while demand outstrips capacity.

The new rule will reportedly come into force this weekend.

Meanwhile in Bergamo – where the most number of infections have been recorded – the army has been called in to transport bodies to other regions for cremation.

A convoy of military vehicles drove coffins out of the city last weekend, according to local paper L’Eco di Bergamo.

Giorgio Gori, the mayor, welcomed back around 100 urns to the city earlier this week that had been sent away to Bologna, Modena and other cities for cremation, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Authorities had asked for help in dealing with the rising number of dead in Bergamo after the local crematorium struggled to cope with increased demand.

Giacomo Angeloni, the local official for cemeteries, said earlier this month the crematorium was working around the clock and handling around 24 bodies a day – almost twice its normal maximum – and was unable to keep up.

There have been more than 7,400 confirmed coronavirus cases in Bergamo, according to official figures on Friday.

Meanwhile, nearly 7,000 people have been infected with Covid-19 in Milan to date.

Both are in Lombardy, the Italian region which has been the worst-hit by the virus.

The whole country has been in lockdown since 10 March as authorities work to combat the spread of Covid-19, with people only allowed to go outside if it is essential, for example to buy groceries or go to work.

More than 8,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus have died in Italy – the highest number across anywhere in the world.

Additional reporting by Reuters