The Lusaka City Council has called on all bereaved families to conduct their funeral services in the shortest time possible.
LCC public Relations Manager, Mwaka Nakweti says the local government strongly advises all bereaved families to hold funerals within the shortest possible period to avoid putting people at great risk of contracting the COVID-19.
ZANIS reports that Miss. Nakweti in a statement says the fight against COVID19 is not for local authorities only but also for all members of the general public who should play their part in complying with the health guidelines.
‘’We are calling on all bereaved families to conduct their funeral services in the shortest time possible, we strongly advise against the families holding services for hours; this puts everyone congregating at great risk of contracting COVID- 19,’’ she said.
She has also cautioned members of the public handling the Brought in Dead (BID)bodies to make sure they wear protective clothing correctly when doing so.
‘’ We also urge members of the public handling BID bodies to do so with utmost care by wearing their masks and gloves correctly, reports have indicated that transmission of Covid19 from a corpse is possible and should not be taken lightly,’’ she said.
She has disclosed that regarding alternative burial sites, Lusaka City Council has provided for a budget allocation which is pending approval for the purchase of about fifty hectares of burial land.
And a spot check at Leopards Hill Cemetery and Memorial Park, revealed that a number of mourners conducted funeral services for their deceased loved ones right at the grave site.
At the adjacent memorial park , security officers were only allowing 50 mourners with face masks before attending the service for their deceased relatives.
I happened to have attended the burial of my late cousin at Old Leopards Hill cemetry and my observation is that people are observing covid-19 guidelines and would urge the city council to keep the awareness campaign upped up.