This story is part of a series: Inside Ireland's Covid Battle "Before Covid we could have six to seven remains a day and during Covid we were having ten to 15 bodies a day, so it was a major increase." The peak of the Covid crisis meant hospitals here witnessed a significant increase in deaths - a sad reality that Paul Byrne, Mortuary Manager at St James's Hospital, had to deal with on a daily basis. "The undertaker normally contacts us.
They'd be aware that we have to wait for the Covid result. "It could take 12 hours - it could take 14 hours. If it's positive, unfortunately then we have to treat them the way we always remove the Covid cases," Mr Byrne explained. "They're brought in, the lads would bring up the coffin, place him in the