The special refrigerator placed next to the Paphos general hospital morgue is to temporarily store bodies while works are under way to repair the alarm system, state health services Okypy said on Tuesday.
Following social media posts, Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaou clarified that the refrigerator brought in met specifications and that the whole process would take four days.
“The need to temporarily move bodies arose due to necessary works on the mortuary chamber alarm system. Fixing it will ensure early warning in case of a fault,” he added.
Charilaou explained that the procedure included moving the bodies, disinfecting, repairing the system and returning the bodies to the mortuary cabinets.
He assured that all necessary measures were being taken for the safe storage of bodies during works.
In May, a fault in the refrigerated mortuary cabinets forced the morgue to close.
The morgue was expected to reopen in early June after repairs were concluded.
Okypy said the bodies already at the morgue in May had been moved to suitable facilities, while for new bodies the families were being advised to make arrangements with funeral homes.
In the case that families are unable to do so, the Paphos general hospital would undertake to find alternative facilities.
Okypy also said carrying out post mortems at a single reference centre, such as the Nicosia general hospital morgue, was neither an obstacle to any procedure nor a burden, and that best practices had been taken into account.