*Warning* Discussion of Rinks as Morgues *Warning*

[AgnesNitt]

One of our readers felt the topic of using rinks for morgues was taking over the "what will you do if your rink closes" thread. Since people obviously want to post on this issue, I've started this thread.
I'm moving the morgue discussion over here.

I'd probably just move.  Might do that even if the rink survives.  Some rinks our way are picking up the slack as temporary morgues.  Don't knock it.  It pays the electric.

I heard about that over in Maryland. I noticed the article didn't give the name of the rinks. Not the kind of mention in the news a rink would want.

[Loops]

They quietly proposed using our local rink as a morgue.  The idea horrified me. Fortunately, this wave my region of France was spared and they removed the ice to start some planned repairs.

We have a professional hockey team, and feeder club at our rink, plus city hall pays the electricity bills, so there is no danger for me. But, if it were to happen,  it'd be the end.  The next closest rink is around 2 hours away in light traffic.  Not happening. TBH the end of my skating has already been on my mind, due to the disaster our club has become for the non-elite skaters. It's a constant source of angst, even with the early end to the season. I've made a mental limit of 2 more seasons to see if there's a change-evoking crisis (what it'll take, unfortunately). I'll use my pic skates more, and could conceivably try out quads (they do figures at least!), but the roller club, even at 45 minutes is conceptually too far for me.   It's on the mental table though.

[FigureSpins]

I heard about that over in Maryland. I noticed the article didn't give the name of the rinks. Not the kind of mention in the news a rink would want.

Not all the articles left the rink nameless.  Think "gardens"

[tstop4me]

I'd probably just move.  Might do that even if the rink survives.  Some rinks our way are picking up the slack as temporary morgues.  Don't knock it.  It pays the electric.

A couple of weeks ago when I entered "ice rinks coronavirus" in Google, the first listing concerned "repurposing" an ice rink in Madrid as a temporary morgue, followed by listings of similar plans in the UK and in some US states.  Makes sense.  In NYC, many funeral homes were overwhelmed during the peak of the crisis; and some of their remedies were not exactly kosher, to put it mildly.

I guess things have improved.  When I repeated the search just now, the first listing is from US Figure Skating.

I used to watch a TV show called "Blacklist".  In one episode, an ice rink was used to entomb bodies from mob hits.  Surprise, surprise when the ice was taken down.  We had a great laugh at the time, because one of the surfaces at my home rink was being gutted, and we wondered what we would find.

[Query]

Not all the articles left the rink nameless.  Think "gardens"

This news article makes it clear which facility is being used as a temporary morgue:

<LINK REDACTED BY MODERATOR>

I don't know if all the available ice surfaces are being used for this purpose.

I'm sure similar things are happening at some other rinks around the world.

I know it sounds icky. But, something has to be done with the extra corpses that a serious pandemic like this one produces. An ice rink already has the refrigeration capacity in place.  Perhaps even a seasonal outdoor rink might be suitable with a temporary plywood cover to cut thermal transfer.

BTW, shortly after the 911 event, the U.S. federal government set aside a certain money that was used to subsidize rinks that agreed to make their facilities available as morgues, should the need arise. I don't know if that program is still in place, or what rinks took the money. But because of those agreements, some rinks may not have a choice.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the bodies will be wrapped in body bags before delivery, so the facility may not become as contaminated as you would think.

I do worry that it may take a fair bit of time after the end of the pandemic to process all those bodies, and then perhaps to do a very thorough job of disinfecting the facility. And I worry that some people will think it icky, and may not come back to skate when they are gone.

[FigureSpins]

Just to clarify - Sky Rink in Manhattan served as a triage/command center, but was never used for bodies.  Sadly, few bodies recovered from that tragedy.  I went to a lot of wakes/funerals with empty caskets.

An earlier article about the current rink said only one of their ice sheets would be used for this purpose.

As for losing customers due to ickiness, that's why none of us named the current rink or linked articles.

[Isk8NYC]

Moderator note: topic closed due to sensitive nature and article link removed.  We wouldn't want a rink to fold because customers were scared off.