CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—Mindanao’s first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) fatality was buried without fuss in a public cemetery here on Saturday (March 14).
The patient, known only as PH40, died on Friday, March 13, inside the isolation room of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) in the city, only five days after he was referred here by a private hospital in Iligan City.
It was only on March 11, that the DOH regional office confirmed that PH40 was positive for COVID-19.
In a press statement released on Sunday (March 15), the DOH said PH40 was buried in the Bolonsiri public cemetery at the village of Camaman-an.
The DOH said the body was first disinfected and sealed in airtight, leak-proof body bags “to prevent contamination.” The procedure was done at the hospital, it said.
“We take responsibility because we feel that if it will be brought to another area, it would pose a bigger problem to a lot of people,” said Mayor Oscar Moreno in a joint DOH and city government press briefing on Monday (March 16).
Earlier, Dr. Adriano Suba-an, DOH regional director, said health protocol required the bodies of COVID-19 fatalities to be cremated. But DOH had agreed to the decision of the family to have PH40’s remains be buried instead. Cremation is not acceptable among Muslims.
Photos of men wearing protective suits and face masks burying a body circulated on social media before the DOH issued a statement on Sunday.
The statement said the burial process followed DOH protocol.
Sol Mosqueda, of the city memorial park, said PH40’s remains were disinfected and sealed before it was lowered in a sealed grave.
Mosqueda said the procedure was done to prevent contamination and ensure public safety.
“The public memorial park is the safest and most appropriate burial place. Transporting the body elsewhere poses more danger to the public,” Mosqueda said.
“We are doing everything to protect public health,” Moreno said.