COLOMBO (UCAN): Mass cremations have begun in Sri Lanka to clear a backlog of bodies as Covid-19 cases surge across the island. Daily virus infections in the country have doubled in a month to more than 2,500 with nearly 100 deaths, putting huge strain on hospitals.
The Colombo Municipality began cremations on August 8, disposing of 15 corpses at Colombo General Cemetery after the island’s main hospital said it had no more freezer space.
It was the first mass cremation since December when the government overruled religious objections and cremated the bodies of 15 members of the Muslim community, including a 20-day-old baby.
Following local and international protests, the government then allowed Muslims to be buried in a remote corner of the island’s east in accordance with Islamic traditions.
The Public Health Inspectors [PHI] union said bodies of Covid-19 patients piled up at hospitals over the August 7 to 8 weekend as crematoriums, working round the clock, were unable to cope with the rapid rise in deaths.
“At this rate, we may have to build new crematoriums,” PHI union chief, Upul Rohana, told reporters in Colombo.
At Colombo North Hospital, 20 bodies languished without refrigeration while at Panadura Hospital, south of the capital, the number was over 50. At Colombo National Hospital, all 66 freezers were filled and bodies piled up on trolleys and tables.
Throughout the pandemic the state has disposed of bodies and not released them to families.
Sri Lanka had reported 329,994 Covid-19 cases and 5,111 deaths as of August 9 but experts say the true figure is much higher.
The new wave comes after the government relaxed restrictions in April to allow celebrations for the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Regulations were tightened once more in May and eased again on July 10.
Father Dilan Perera, chaplain at Ragama Hospital, said many Catholic parishes and Buddhist temples are supporting Sri Lanka’s Covid-19 battle.
“The Church provided water filters and boilers to start every Covid ward at Ragama Hospital and handed over Covid-19 protective equipment,” Father Perera said, adding, “It has given the jubilee hall of Tewatta shrine to the army as a quarantine centre.”
Father Perera said that due to the pandemic, hospital staff cannot go home to wash their clothes. “We gave a washing machine to support them,” he said.
Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith handed over Covid-19 protective equipment worth 20 million rupees [$780,500] to Lady Ridgeway Hospital in Colombo in June.
Hospital sources say that about 45,000 children have contracted Covid-19 in the country. “So far, 14 children have died of coronavirus,” said Dr. Nalin Kitulwatta, a pediatrician at the hospital.
