Tag: Burial

The issue is heating up with the people of Iranaitivu island protesting against the burial of all the COVID dead in their midst

The Director General of Health Services Dr. Asela Gunawardena, last evening released the Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) in the transportation and burial of COVID-19 dead, after the government issued a fresh gazette last week permitting burials of virus infected victims.

A leading Muslim organisation in Sri Lanka will this week send an official letter of concern to the global Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the World Muslim Congress, seeking their intervention to urge the Sri Lankan government to allocate a decent land for the burial of Muslim COVID-19 victims.

Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told Daily Mirror that the idea to select Iranaitivu Island was made by the expert committee, taking into consideration all the scientific criteria as well as the new strains of the COVID-19 virus.

Earlier, there was speculation about the government’s scouting for several places all over Sri Lanka which are suitable for locating graveyards for the COVID dead.

A statement from the OIC and Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s intercession in the context of the UNHRC session could have been the immediate reasons.

Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi a short while ago issued a fresh gazette notification allowing the burial of Covid-19 victims reversing an earlier decision that made cremation mandatory.

The coming UNHRC session and the visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan may have influenced the reversal of the highly divisive policy of not allowing the burial of COVID victims

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced that Sri Lanka will commence the burial of remains of Covid victims.

The Sinhala-Muslim political rift shapes government policy, not scientific evidence