MP Suggested U.K. Could Put Morgue in Hyde Park if Virus Hits

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 21: A woman reads a book in Hyde Park as warm weather continues in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. The hottest UK April temperature for 70 years was recorded in London earlier in the week. (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)Photographer: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Europe

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By Alex Morales and Jess Shankleman

February 28, 2020 at 3:54 PM UTC

Updated on

February 28, 2020 at 8:23 PM UTC

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Last year, London’s Hyde Park drew tens of thousands of fans for concerts by Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand. This year, the prospect was raised that authorities may be planning to use it for a more somber purpose if coronavirus takes hold.

“We have contingency plans to open up a morgue in Hyde Park, in tents,” said Nickie Aiken, a councilor for the central London district which includes the open space, once a refuge from plague in the 17th century. “We would run the morgue for most of central London,” she said in an interview.