At a Covid-19 treatment facility in HCM City.

Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, told VietNamNet that there are four cremation sites in the city, including Binh Hung Hoa in Binh Tan district, Da Phuoc in Binh Chanh district, Phuc An Vien in District 9, and Thap Long Tho in Cu Chi District.

Thang said that the city had asked these units to accept all cases of cremation and not increase the service price.

Regarding the Covid-19 related deaths, the city will cover all expenses for funeral observances, from shrouding, transportation, and cremation, to the delivery of the ashes to the relatives of the deceased.

"The city will try to take care of this work in the most complete and dignified way for the deceased. The support level is VND17 million per case, which comes from the city budget," Thang said.

For those who died from Covid-19 in hospitals, Thang said that the city will allocate funding to the Department of Health, which then re-allocate to hospitals to cover the cost of funeral observances. For those who die at home, the funding will be distributed to the districts, which will then be allocated to the wards and communes to take care of the people.

Tuan Kiet

HCMC decides how to handle bodies of deceased Covid patients

The ashes of deceased Covid-19 patients will be kept by the HCMC Urban Environment Company. The urns of ashes, labelled with the full names of people and the dates of death, will be given to family members.