Cape Town - As Covid-19 deaths continue to increase preparations are under way to ensure the funeral industry will be able to cope.
Virus-related deaths hit 30 in the province on Friday, the highest in the country, the need to adequately prepare for the possibility of high volume of burials has prompted officials to put in place a plan of action.
Head of the provincial Department of Health Dr Keith Cloete said discussions were under way to deal with increasing deaths, particularly in the City of Cape Town.
“The City is working with us as
we are busy with technical work on how to address all these issues. Given the population size we are expecting the most deaths to come from the metro but we are also working with other district municipalities,” Cloete said.
“The technical team met (in the week) to map out what needs to be done: the two big aspects being a need for regulations to be identified for land-use and the other one deals with environmental affairs that deal with the ability of the crematorium to function with the air quality and other technicalities.”
The City has 17 operational cemeteries. The ratio for cremation in the province stands at 40%, with 60% accounting for burials.
Cloete said they would increase hospital mortuary capacity as temporary space before the bodies are collected by undertakers who were being trained to meet the necessary requirements.
One undertaker who received training is Aleric Solomon, owner of Fern Funerals.
“This was mainly on how to safeguard our staff and ensure that we have adequate PPE (personal protective equipment) and how to handle the body when we are called out,” he said.
“We collect them after the body has been sterilised and placed in the three body bags and when we collect it, we bring the coffin which gets sealed on site before it is placed in the fridge as is before it is taken for burial or cremation in the same coffin.”
Spokesperson for Forensic Pathology Services, Deanna Bessick, said while they have been providing the necessary training, the provision of protective wear and body bags would not be provided by the department.
The National Funeral Practitioners Association’s Julie Mbuthuma, however, said: “The total cost for PPE is R3000 and this cost excludes the cost of disinfectants, sanitisers and other tools. We request that government put in place a relief fund which enable the death care industry to absorb the added costs of PPE, in the absence of which this cost will have to be borne by the family of the deceased.”