There’s been a week-on-week increase in burials at Cape Town cemeteries
According to City figures, a total of 638
burials were completed at cemeteries in the past week. This is an increase from
488, the week before.
‘’What we are experiencing now is similar to
the previous two waves of Covid-19 infections, when fatalities increased
sharply. The City has sufficient capacity to accommodate burials, but if one
considers the number of burials at Klip Road in the past week, that equates to
an average of 30 a day, which means a lot of foot traffic in and out of the
cemetery, increased risk of close contact and increased pressure on staff to
manage the situation. We therefore need a collective effort to ensure that we
are able to manage the situation effectively, and in the best interests of
public health and safety,’’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for
Community Services and Health, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
Badroodien said the availability of public
graves has been impacted by a high water table, at the Maitland cemetery,
brought about by heavy rainfall.
‘’In the last week, the Maitland Crematorium
completed 84 cremations, while 32 others were transferred to private crematoria
while maintenance work on one of the cremators at Maitland was being finalised,’’
added Badroodien.
Badroodien urged funeral organisers to consider
weekday burials to help alleviate the pressure on cemeteries
Done By: Mitchum George
No comments:
Post a Comment