Funeral homes in Langley and across the province are facing a potential shortage of personal protective equipment even as they have to transport and prepare for burial those who may have died of the coronavirus.

Ian Elliott of LangleyB次元官网网址檚 Arbutus Funeral Services knows the difficulties of holding a funeral in a time of physical distancing.

His firm isnB次元官网网址檛 holding indoor funerals, with graveside services for a few people the only option for many right now.

But the work funeral homes provide behind the scenes is becoming increasingly difficult because of a worry about running out of PPE.

When someone dies in a hospital or care home, itB次元官网网址檚 funeral homes that undertake transport and get the bodies of the deceased to the funeral, the grave site, or a crematorium.

ItB次元官网网址檚 unknown if thereB次元官网网址檚 any danger of contracting COVID-19 from a deceased person, so thereB次元官网网址檚 no way of knowing if itB次元官网网址檚 safe to handle them. And because PPE is almost entirely disposable, users go through it quickly.

B次元官网网址淗ospital professionals are your first line of defence,B次元官网网址� said Elliott. B次元官网网址淔uneral professionals are your last line of defence.B次元官网网址�

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Workers are worried about possible exposure to COVID-19 in the course of their duties.

B次元官网网址淢y suppliers who I deal with, they supply all my masks and gloves, they are completely out of the N95 masks, any other masks, the face shields,B次元官网网址� said Elliott.

Even simple items like hand sanitizer are either hard to find or have shot up in price, he said.

Funeral professionals were listed by the B.C. government among groups that need PPE to do their jobs B次元官网网址� but Elliott said they were located on page four of the list, near the bottom.

It isnB次元官网网址檛 just a problem for Arbutus or other small, local firms.

B次元官网网址淥ur profession, right across Canada and the U.S. for that matter, PPE is hard to come by for sure,B次元官网网址� said Jason Everden, president of the B.C. Funeral Association.

He said itB次元官网网址檚 big, international firms as well as the family-owned funeral homes facing the crunch.

The funeral supply firms that sold equipment, including PPE, to most chains and funeral homes, ran out of PPE early on in the crisis. Other PPE suppliers started limiting orders.

B次元官网网址淎nd then, everyone was out,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檝e got less than three months supply, on average,B次元官网网址� Everden said of funeral homes in B.C.

The association managed to get some PPE for its members by going through dental suppliers, who were sitting on some gloves and other items after dentists shut their doors.

What PPE is available is now often doubling in cost, with prices still volatile.

Everden acknowledges that doctors and nurses need the PPE first.

B次元官网网址淏ut we also need it to protect our staff.B次元官网网址�