South Africa is Africa continent’s worst-hit country in the pandemic, with more than 1.4 million coronavirus cases and 40,800 deaths.

It was already struggling to beat back infections when they surged to unprecedented levels this month after scientists detected a new virus variant widely believed to be more contagious.

To help store the influx of bodies — and ensure Covid-19 victims are separated from others — AVBOB has distributed 22 containers normally used for transporting goods to its 250 South African morgues.

Inside a refrigerated shipping container are 17 plastic-wrapped corpses, each bearing a yellow label reading “highly contagious?”

The 12-meter steel box has been installed at the Johannesburg morgue to help it cope with a rising tide of Covid deaths.

The container can store up to 40 corpses, keeping them at a constant zero degrees Celsius.

“We have seen an increase of around 40 percent (in corpses) across the country,” said spokesman Marius du Plessis of AVBOB, a leading funeral and burial service provider in the country.