Roanoke undertaker says tweet on multiple new COVID deaths each day opened eyes

“Extremely challenging and depressing for myself and our entire staff to walk into work every morning and see not one, but multiple new COVID deaths that occurred overnight. I’ve worked here for 44 years and have never seen such a tragedy.“ — Sammy Oakey in a Friday tweet

Sammy Oakey didn’t have any idea his tweet would gain so much traction on Twitter and that it would be shared among Facebook friends who ask if it is true. Are that many people in the Roanoke Valley dying daily of COVID-19?

“It really did open a lot of eyes and let people see that this is really happening right here in our community and we are facing a very serious situation,” Oakey said Monday.

As president of Oakey’s and its six chapels across the valley, Oakey each morning looks at the new deaths.

“Every day anymore we are coming in to see not one, but sometimes two or three COVID positive cases, and that used to not be the case. Now we are seeing them over and over and over,” he said. “We are having difficulties logistically keeping up with things, and emotionally. We are having to be with families that are just shattered.”

Oakey’s has handled arrangements for 104 people who had the disease.

“Most of these were not in the first few months. We really picked up around July, and really, really picked up in the last six to eight weeks,” he said.

As of Monday, the Virginia Department of Health had recorded 78 deaths for people who had lived in the city of Roanoke, 35 for Roanoke County, 23 for Salem, 15 for Alleghany County, 13 for Botetourt County, two for Covington and one for Craig County. The state data on deaths is incomplete as it takes time for death certificates to be reported into the system.

Bar graphs showing when the deaths occurred bear out what Oakey is seeing. In Salem, for example, 17 of its deaths have occurred since the end of October.

Health officials have been warning about rises in infections, which leads to upticks in hospitalizations and then to an increase in deaths. On Nov. 10, the Roanoke and Alleghany health districts had reported 96 deaths. By Dec. 1, that number had increased to 142.

What Oakey tweeted wasn’t news to those following the spread of the illness locally.

But it took some by surprise.

“I think people get tired of hearing the same people say it. They hear the health department folks or they hear a doctor, but I think maybe when they hear an undertaker tell you that even we are getting burned out, and we can’t handle this much longer, I think when they hear somebody like us say that, I think it opened up a few ears,” he said.

Through Oct. 13, Oakey’s has handled arrangements for 100 more people than is typical for the first 10 months of a year.

He said those who think the only people dying of COVID were on the brink of death anyway are very wrong.

“We have seen COVID plays no favorites. We have seen upper income, lower income, male, female, black, white, thin, heavy. We have seen COVID hitting everybody, and for these deniers to say this is not happening, it breaks my heart,” Oakey said. “What do you have to do to prove to people it is happening. If they want to come in here and spend a day with us, maybe that would make a believer out of them. But I would not put somebody through that.”