Among Bodies: Portuguese Cemeterial Exhumations Three Years after a Pandemic

Abstract

On 19 March 2020, a “state of emergency” was declared in Portugal due to the manifestation of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with an exponential rate of infection and high mortality and morbidity rates. Since then, the state of emergency was declared a further fifteen times until 30 April 2021, during which a total of 16,974 deaths associated with COVID-19 were acknowledged in the country. Over the aforementioned period, guidelines were followed regarding the handling of suspected cases in autopsy rooms, mortuaries, and cemeteries. However, no procedures have been established regarding the handling of human remains during and after cemeterial exhumations. Furthermore, little is known about the virus survival and its spatial distribution in postmortem human tissues. Given that the minimum Portuguese legal period of inhumation is ending and cemeteries have been facing limited burial space and soon will start exhuming buried individuals, the authors believe it is important to reflect on the matter.