Ranil tells govt not to dilly-dally with burial decision

By Saman Indrajith

UNP Leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that the government should take immediate action to either bury or cremate COVID-19 infected corpses, instead of keeping them in freezers over a long period.

Speaking to the media after meeting a group of health officials at his residence in Colombo on Thursday, the UNP leader said that the issue of burying or cremation of the bodies of COVID -19 victims had now become a political issue and it was wrong to keep those bodies in freezers.

“The government should make a decision on the basis of scientific facts and opinion of health experts. The health experts state that the virus can remain strong and active when storing corpses of corona infected people in freezers. Owing to indecision of the government in the face of protests and agitations, corpses of those who died of the coronavirus are now stored in freezers. These corpses should not be kept in freezers at all. Either the bodies should be buried or cremated immediately after death. This decision should be taken by the government,” the UNP leader said.

Wickremesinghe said that when a COVID-19 infected body after being kept in a freezer for several days is transferred to a coffin for burial or cremation the virus could be released to the outside environment.

He said that research has proved that the virus is safe in extreme cold. “Medical experts say that it can also be activated later. So keeping COVID infected bodies in freezers over a long period is a wrong decision. There is no need to get involved in politics for such matters. The government should take a direct and firm decision,” he said.

“This should be done without any further delay. It is important to look into the recommendations of the World Health Organization as well as the manner in which countries such as Korea, India and Germany have acted in this regard,” he said.