TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jusuf Hamka of the Cilincing Crematorium Foundation in North Jakarta, said the foundation only charges Rp7 million for the cost of cremating the bodies of people who died of Covid-19. Family members who cannot afford it can get the service free of charge if they have a Jakarta ID, and show a letter stating their financial disabilities from neighborhood officials (kelurahan), or a letter from the Kim Tek Ie Temple/Vihara Dharma Bhakti in Petak Sembilan, West Jakarta .

"At the Kim Tek Ie Temple/Vihara Dharma Bhakti in Petak Sembilan, you only need to show a death certificate from a doctor," Jusuf said in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 21.

According to Jusuf, Rp7 million is the cost of cremation during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the rates were cheaper because Cilincing Crematorium workers only had to work during the day, not at night.

"With Covid-19, our staffs also work at night—separating the time between working on Covid and non-Covid bodies. Their work has doubled," said Jusuf.

Jusuf said that so far there have been no obstacles in the cremation process, because the five-hectare Cilincing Crematorium area can cremate up to ten bodies.

He denied reports that there are bodies queuing to be cremated, but admitted that there has been an increase in the crematorium's workload.

"We worked it out by dividing shifts; morning for non-Covid bodies and night for Covid-19 bodies," he said.

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Antara