Work on crematoriums for victims of Covid underway
PHNOM Penh municipal authorities are preparing to build four electricity-run crematoriums on 10ha of land in Tasal commune of Kampong Speu province’s Oral district, according to a Phnom Penh municipal governor.
The new crematoriums are for burning the bodies of those who have died from Covid-19.
Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng told The Post on March 14 that a working group had started to bulldoze land at the foot of the Oral Mountain to build the crematoriums for Covid19-related deaths after the plan was agreed to by the Kampong Speu provincial administration.
“We could not build crematoriums for Covid-19-related deaths in the business and commercial areas of a town or city because of the risks of spreading the disease.
“And we don’t want this to be done in a perfunctory manner without proper technical standards. So I decided to order the purchase of some technical equipment from Thailand to assist in the construction of these [four facilities],” Sreng said.
He added that building the crematoriums was not meant as an insult to the lives of Covid-19 victims, rather it was being done thoughtfully and in a humanitarian spirit.
Sreng also requested that citizens cooperate with local authorities and report people suspected of directly or indirectly being in contact with Covid-19 infected persons so that the police can intervene and take them for testing and treatment or quarantine.
Kampong Speu provincial governor Vei Samnang told The Post that the Kampong Speu provincial administration had identified 49ha of land in Tasal commune to build the crematoriums and also for the burial of Covid-19 victims.
“Land in that area is high ground that does not flood. The area has no lakes, streams or canals. The choice of this area to build the crematoriums and graveyards for Covid-19-related deaths is a good one and without [any risk of] transmitting [the disease] to others because the site is 2,900m away from any businesses or commercial areas of any towns,” he said.
Samnang added that as a first step the Kampong Speu provincial administration had cooperated with the Phnom Penh municipal administration to build the four electricity-run crematoriums on 10ha in case there are Covid-19-related deaths.
However, Samnang said, for any Muslims or Christians who would prefer that their bodies be buried intact, the provincial administration would prepare a site for those burials in the area.
Ministry of Cult and Religion secretary of state Seng Somony also told The Post on March 14 that the site for the crematoriums and graveyard was chosen for safety purposes.
“For now, Phnom Penh and Kampong Speu authorities have agreed to use a site in the Oral Mountain area for the crematoriums and graveyard for Covid-19-related deaths. Some provinces in more remote areas have chosen pagodas with large compounds for building new crematoriums,” he said.
He added that bodies of persons who have or may have died from Covid-19 could not be cremated in the same crematoriums as those who experienced other causes of death, but that this was not out of contempt or discrimination – it was just the authorities taking maximum precautions and all possible preventive measures against the further spread of the virus.
He also called on citizens to continue to consistently carry out preventive health measures and proper sanitation according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and to follow the three protections and three don’ts.
The building of the crematoriums comes shortly after confirmed cases of Covid-19 from the February 20 community transmission event were found to have increased significantly. Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the building of the crematoriums on March 9.