Govt urged to abide by WHO guidelines over burials or cremations of COVID-19 victims

Amnesty International urged the government to abide by guidelines by the World Health Organization over burials or cremations for people who have died from COVID-19 while stressing that the rights of religious minorities should be respected and protected,

The call came in the wake of the government reiterated yesterday that it has not taken a decision to change the current procedure of cremation of those who succumbed to COVID-19.

A final decision on this matter has to be taken by the technical committee of the Ministry of Health, Ministry Spokesman Dr. Jayaruwan Bandara said.

Current procedure of cremation of corpses of persons tested positive for COVID-19 was decided by the Director General of Health considering scientific and technical reasons both related to the pandemic as well as the soil in Sri Lanka.

“We call on the Sri Lankan authorities to abide by @WHO guidelines, which recommend burials or cremations for people who have died from COVID-19. The rights of religious minorities should be respected and protected,”a tweet from the official Twitter handle of Amnesty International South Asia said today.