Knee deep in dead
Covid-19 deaths may be up to three times higher than government statistics reflect and some funeral parlours are buying mobile cold storage facilities to deal with the overflow, says the SA Funeral Practitioners Association.
Death certificates for Covid victims ‘not issued in the three-day window’.
Covid-19 deaths could be up to three times higher than what government statistics reflect, as funeral parlours are overwhelmed with the influx of bodies this winter, industry leaders say.
According to the SA Funeral Practitioners Association spokesperson and director of Sopema Funerals, Monageng Legae, it was a busy week. On Monday, he bought a mobile cold storage facility to deal with the overflow at his mortuary.
Families battle to get a death certificate from the department of home affairs branches on time – and it is impossible for Covid-19 cases. According to government regulations, burials for coronavirus deaths have to be done within three days. But Legae’s mortuary, which fits 24 bodies, has been full all weekend, with some of the deceased being confirmed Covid-19 deaths over a week old.
“The numbers that government is currently showing is about 5 000 deaths – we are confident that this number is not correct. The number we are currently seeing is triple what they are currently showing us,” says Legae. “In June last year, which is the peak season for deaths, we normally would have done about 70 deaths in a month. But I have already surpassed my number: I have done over 150 burials in the last two weeks.
“Remember that positive cases will only be confirmed positive when they come from a hospital and they have their test result.”
Legae had to hire additional staff to deal with after-hours calls for pick-ups around Johannesburg from as far as Cosmo City. The influx has been felt by the industry at large, he said.
At the front entrance of his Soweto offices, a large marquee greets customers – an addition which was made recently as a result of the high influx of new requests for burials.
Many of the families have been left cashstrapped by the economic consequences of the lockdown and cannot afford to pay for funerals out of pocket. And some insurance companies refuse to release funeral cover funds without death certificates which, recently, have been difficult to obtain.
This has led to some funeral parlours bearing the funeral
I have done over 150 burials in the last two weeks
costs upfront as a form of credit to families. This is a move of desperation, the association said, because if bodies do not move, storage facilities are quickly filled beyond capacity.
It called for home affairs to open its offices for longer hours and possibly hire additional staff to deal with the backlog in the issuing of death certificates.
Hospital group Netcare set up free-standing mortuaries at some of its hospitals to ensure the safety of health and funeral parlour workers in the light of rising Covid-19 numbers.
Of the 5 173 confirmed Covid-19 deaths, 917 were from Gauteng at the last count. SA has 373 628 confirmed cases, of which there have been 195 000 recoveries.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is scheduled to deliver a budget vote speech in parliament this week..
The department did not responded to requests for comment by time of going to press. –