With the Covid-19 death toll steadily increasing, the possibility of mass graves for victims has become apparent - a move welcomed by the South African Cemeteries Association.
Picture for illustration. A view shows dozens of freshly dug graves at a cemetery in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on April 7, 2020. Picture: Stanislav VEDMID / AFP
As SA’s Covid-19 death toll continues to rise and with the latest projections and modelling forecasting more than 40,000 deaths by November, municipalities have been told to identify potential mass grave sites. Any mass burials must be conducted “in consideration of human dignity” and “necessary controls should be put in place to ensure that remains can be identified”.The chair of the South African Cemeteries Association , Pepe Dass, yesterday said there was a global shortage of burial space but the Covid-19 pandemic had not yet resulted in an immediate need for additional burial space in South Africa.Dass said the new directions were “quite considerate”.
“The first thing people think of is a very undignified disposal of remains but, in fact, it’s really a last resort for authorities that are simply overwhelmed by the number of cases. We advocate for trench graves, with a single level of bodies parallel to each other.Fonseca described the new directions as “a very responsible approach from the authorities”.
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