MANY people have lost jobs and livelihood and while they can hardly afford to live, they definitely cannot afford to die either.
This according to Member of Parliament for Chaguanas West Dinesh Rambally in a letter to the Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram on the matter of outdoor open-air cremations.
Rambally in a previous letter to Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh and the CMO said that members of the Hindu community who lost family members due to Covid-19 were financially burdened by the funeral costs of indoor cremation allowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Open-air cremations are not allowed.
MP has asked for the allowance of open-air cremations for members of the Hindu community due to evidence that suggested that outdoor cremations do not transmit the Covid-19 virus from the cadaver.
Speaking during a virtual presser on Wednesday, Deyalsingh said, “Open cremations for Covid-19 victims is prohibited in order to keep people safe and not to target any religious group.”
Deyalsingh also indicated that while he reviews and signs off on policies regarding the Covid-19 public health regulations, it was Dr Parasram and his team that usually created the policies based on the current information they have regarding the virus.
In his letter to the CMO, Rambally asked for the scientific data that prohibited open-pyre cremations under the same conditions of indoor cremations while not costing of upwards of $8,000, as well as what assurance he could provide to those financially challenged families at this time.
“I have been lobbied extensively by the Hindu community which feels burdened, or rather, tormented, by the fact that they must find an extra $8,000 to $10,000 to pay for the indoor crematorium service that is now mandatory for Covid-19 victims having to be cremated, as open pyres are not allowed,” Rambally said.
He asked the CMO: “Can you indicate if the Ministry of Health is willing to assist in any way whatsoever, with the cost of crematorium charges, based on the crematorium policy the Ministry has imposed?”
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