IDI Asks Ulema to Help Disseminate Covid-19 Burial Procedures

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) urged ulema and community figures to participate in disseminating information about burial procedures for Covid-19 victims and those suspected to have contracted the disease. This aimed at preventing rejection from residents as occurred in several regions.

“We expect ulema in regions to inform the public that the burial complies with the clear health protocol,” said the IDI deputy chairman Mohammad Adib Khumaidi in Jakarta, Thursday, April 2.

The protocol has been regulated by the government under the recommendations of the World Health Organization or WHO.

The safety standards include that the deceased must be buried within a minimum distance of 500 meters from the nearest residential area and 50 meters from the water source at a depth of 1.5 meters. The body must also be wrapped with plastics and handled by special officers.

According to Adib, the dissemination of the funeral protocol is necessary to calm the public when seeing such a process in cemeteries near their residence. “The protocol has actually been socialized by the Health Ministry and the Religious Affairs Ministry,” he added.

As earlier reported, people of Makassar and Gowa had four-time rejected the burial of Covid-19 victims in cemeteries near their homes over fear of having been infected by the respiratory disease.

Adib further asserted that as long as the procedure is done properly, the novel coronavirus that might still be present in the body will not infect other people, including the medical workers on duty.

ANTARA