Iloilo City is already preparing for the burial of the bodies of the deceased in COVID-19.
At the meeting convened by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas with the Department of Health (DOH), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, they discussed how to resolve the proper handling of the deceased due to COVID-19.
The only crematorium in the city and throughout Panay island temporarily stopped accepting remains of those who died of COVID-19.
It will be recalled that the owner of the crematorium said that they could no longer cope with the number of corpses arriving from different provinces.
According to Treñas, the Iloilo City will look for a 40-footer freezer van that can reach -20 degrees to temporarily place the dead in COVID-19 while waiting for the new machine of the Gegato-Abecia Funeral Parlor and Crematorium.
The machine is said to cremate 60 to 80 corpses per day and will be operational next week.
The OCD office will discuss with neighboring provinces how to find burial sites in their respective areas for those who died in COVID-19.
Iloilo City looking for huge freezer to house COVID-19 cadavers
Meanwhile, the part of the municipal cemetery in Kalibo, Aklan, is being made a temporary burial ground for the patients who died in COVID-19 while they are still looking for other places to bury them.
According to Kalibo Mayor Emerson Lachica, they have problems with the crematorium they use to properly dispose of the corpses of COVID patients, especially since the average number of coronavirus deaths is 2 to 3.
Reports also said some patients hit by COVID-19 waiting to be admitted already dying while in an ambulance in Kalibo, Aklan.
Based on the Department of Health (DOH) data, the National Capital Region (NCR) and NCR Plus – which includes Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal – showed a rapid increase in cases.
NCR, Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley region, and Central Visayas are also in the “high risk” classification.
The DOH also admitted that in some regions of the country, the impact of the Delta variant is felt.
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