No cremation for Mindanao’s first COVID-19 fatality
Mindanao’s first new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) fatality was buried without fanfare in a public cemetery here on Saturday, a day after his death in a government isolation facility.
Patient 40 (PH 40), as he was tagged by the Department of Health (DOH), was a 54-year-old Muslim teacher who lived in Pasig City in Metro Manila, where he relocated from Lanao del Sur province during the Marawi siege in 2017.
Health protocols
The man, who ran a manpower recruitment agency in San Juan City, also in Metro Manila, died on the night of March 13, 18 days after first showing symptoms of the disease. A friend told the Inquirer that the patient had been to Malaysia in February for a business trip.
The man’s family, citing their faith, declined to heed the DOH’s advice to have him cremated under existing health protocols for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. They buried the body within 24 hours per Islamic tradition.
While health officials acceded to the family’s wishes, they asked them to do away with the traditional washing of the corpse and the gathering of relatives and friends to offer collective prayers for the dead.
Dr. Adriano Suba-an, the DOH director for Northern Mindanao, said the family agreed to the changes in burial rites.“His body was disinfected and placed in a multiple airtight, leak-proof, sealed cadaver bag to prevent contamination,” the DOH said in a statement.
Instead of being taken to his hometown in Lanao del Sur, PH 40, the sixth COVID-19 fatality in the country, was buried at Bolonsiri public cemetery in Barangay Camaman-an in Cagayan de Oro City.
“We take responsibility because we feel that if it will be taken to another area, it will pose a bigger problem to a lot of people,” said Mayor Oscar Moreno. “We are doing everything to protect public health.”
Sol Mosqueda of the city government-run memorial park said the remains were disinfected again and sealed before being buried in a grave that was later sealed.
On Tuesday, a patient under observation for virus symptoms at Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City died, said Bangsamoro parliament member Zia Alonto-Adiong, Lanao del Sur spokesperson for the COVID-19 crisis.
Adiong said the patient was awaiting test results, which later showed he was positive for infection. He was the third COVID-19 case in Mindanao.
The patient came from a religious gathering in Malaysia from Feb. 28 to March 1, he said.
—With reports from Richel Umel, Divina Suson and Edwin Fernandez
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