The councils have a statutory duty to arrangepublic health burials or cremations – known as pauper’s funerals. They are usually only for people who died alone, in poverty, or whose bodies have gone unclaimed. There have been two confirmed Covid-19 cases in prisons, one at HMP Manchester and the other at HMP High Down in Banstead, Surrey. The Chinese city of Wuhan, home to 11 million and where the outbreak started, was locked down in January. The death toll in Italy has soared to above the reported total for Italy with more deaths expected in the coming days and weeks.

Source: Daily Mirror March 21, 2020 22:44 UTC