RESIDENTS of Kalibo, Aklan who died of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) are buried along pathways of public cemeteries.
Kalibo Mayor Emerson Lachica said the pathways are only temporary, as the local government is still finding ways on how to properly bury those who died of the disease, considering that Kalibo has no crematorium.
As of Tuesday, August 10, seven residents have died of Covid-19 and were immediately buried in both private and public cemeteries.
To fast-track the burial of Covid-19 fatalities, the local government uses a backhoe to ensure that the mortalities are buried six feet deep below the ground. This was stipulated in Presidential Decree 856, also known as Code on Sanitation of the Philippines.
"Currently, we are coordinating with the funeral parlor company in Kalibo for a Private-Public Partnership in establishing our own crematorium," Lachica said.
Recently, Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores announced that the crematorium in nearby Iloilo City has broken down due to the influx of Covid-19 fatalities coming from the four provinces of Panay Island.
With this, Miraflores urged all of the 17 local government units in the province, including Kalibo, to immediately bury their residents who died of Covid-19.
Dr. Cornelio Cuachon of the Provincial Health Office reported that some of those who died and buried were considered “probate Covid-19,” as they already died without confirmatory results to show that they have the coronavirus. (SunStar Philippines)