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Ontario crematoriums have been ordered to prepare to operate round-the-clock to ensure that dead bodies are not “stockpiled” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bereavement Authority of Ontario, the agency that licenses and regulates funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries, issued the directive earlier this month as part of its wide-ranging response to COVID-19.

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“All crematoriums in Ontario must be ready to operate all day, every day, seven days a week,” said the order signed by bereavement authority chief executive Carey Smith.

The directive is part of a COVID-19 response plan, he said, designed “to ensure that no stockpiling of bodies occurs — all in the name of safety for families and licensees.”

“We know this places an extra and significant burden on you and your staff,” Smith told the province’s crematorium operators, “but it is necessary during this state of emergency.”

Ontario reported its largest, single-day increase in COVID-19-related deaths on Wednesday as 51 people succumbed to the respiratory virus.