HCMC Party Committee Vice Secretary Phan Van Mai and HCMC Vice Mayor Duong Anh Duc spoke at a press conference to provide information about Covid-19 prevention performance in the city.

Director of the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Nguyen Toan Thang denied the rumour that the cremation fee has increased and that incinerators have stopped receiving bodies of deceased Covid-19 patients.

Currently, in addition to giving support to Covid-19 patients for treatment, the municipal authorities have also allocated budget to support the cremation of dead patients.

People who die because of Covid-19 will be cremated at Binh Hung Hoa crematorium in Binh Tan district. This facility operates 24 hours a day.

Dead bodies are handled in accordance with a six-step process provided by the National Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. The process must be strictly followed by all involved units.

For the dead F0 case whose relatives still have not come to receive the ashes (because they are under quarantine, or for other reasons), the urn of ashes will be kept by the city’s urban environment company and given back to the relatives later.

Thang said there had been problems during the process of carrying dead F0 patients from the places of death to the incinerator. However, the situation has improved.

The city will pay 100 percent of expenses, including hospitalization, treatment and incineration to families living in difficult conditions.

According to the HCM City CDC, Covid-19 is listed as an A-group disease, and, as a result, dead bodies must be handled in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Prevention of Infectious Diseases. The law stipulates that the dead bodies of people with infectious diseases must be disinfected and buried within 24 hours.

As for Covid-19 F0 cases, the Ministry of Health said they must be incinerated and burial performed only if the incineration cannot be done.

They must be put in a coffin as soon as possible, and must be incinerated or buried within 24 hours after the time of death.

For those who die at a medical facility, the bodies will be handled according to the instructions of the health authority, and the burial will follow a special process applied to dangerous diseases.

The burial must be done at the hospital funeral house, with a limited number of participants.

When someone dies in the community, people need to call local authorities and medical units for advice. The dead bodies will be handled in accordance with medical agencies. 

Tu Anh - Ho Van

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