City Hall is looking to establish a cremation facility for individuals who died from COVID-19.
Mayor Sara Duterte, in an interview with Davao City Disaster Radio on Monday, said that the plan is aimed at helping families of suspected or confirmed patients who die due to the virus.
Based on the mandate provided by the Department of Health, patients with suspected cases and are COVID-19 positive should be cremated within 12 hours of expiration, whether their test results were released already or not.
Duterte also said earlier that doctors recommended to directly cremate the corpses as the proper method of handling the remains.
But the charge for private creation is expensive. With this, the families of those who died will have difficulty in assuming the financial burden, which could result in the cadavers piling-up in the COVID-19 identified hospital.
Duterte said that they have been planning to put up a government-owned cremation facility due to the high demands for cremation amid COVID-19.
“I was really thinking of purchasing one (cremation facility) because when we made an inventory, there are only three crematoriums in the city,” she said. “We will look into the provisions of the Bayanihan Act if it is allowed. If yes, then we are considering that.”
As this developed, the remains of all patients who died of suspected COVID-19 had already been cremated. Some of the victims were awaiting their test results at the time of their deaths.
“There are cadavers who are not COVID-19 positive, but the doctors recommend for a cremation,” she said.
Meanwhile, Duterte also said that she had already given 11 healthcare workers who tested positive for COVID-19 their share of the trust fund that was extracted from her one-year salary. Each beneficiary received P50,000 each
