Bereaved families across the country were unable to collect the remains of their loved ones yesterday as funeral undertakers embarked on a nationwide shutdown, barring the removal of corpses from government mortuaries and hospitals.

There are fears that the national shutdown will have adverse consequences on a public health system already overburdened with corpses if the impasse is not resolved. The strike by funeral parlours affiliated to the Unification Task Team (UTT) is expected to end tomorrow...