Burial or cremation: Where is the experts’ opinion?

The issue of burial of bodies of people who had died of COVID-19 has again surfaced with unconfirmed reports to say that the Cabinet has approved the burial as an option to dispose such bodies. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told media that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had instructed the authorities to look into the possibility of burying dead bodies of COVID-19 patients in a remote dry area. And another unconfirmed report said that such 
bodies were to be taken to Mannar for burial.  

The media that had been exhausted of carrying daily surging numbers of COVID-19 patients and related statements made by the officials of the health sector, army and the police seems to have got an interesting and hot topic, weeks after the debate over the controversial 20th Amendment to the Constitution has died down.   
The interesting point is that the main parties involved in the debate over the burial of people who died of COVID-19 are not experts on the issue. On one side, there are the Muslim groups who insist on the burial and on the other there are those who are always in conflict with them, thus turning the debate into a communal issue rather than a scientific one.   

Sri Lanka saw the first local COVID-19 patient on March 11 this year and the authorities had announced that only cremation would be permitted for those who succumb to the deadly virus. However, on March 27, they issued a set of guidelines on disposal of cadavers of COVID-19 patients permitting both burial and cremation as options, reportedly following representations by certain religious groups. The then Director General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr. Anil Jasinghe also, while talking to media, confirmed that both options were permitted.   

However, four days later, on March 31, the health Ministry again reverted to its former stance on the issue  with a new set of guidelines that were issued. This position hurt the Muslims in the country, as they never cremate their dead. When this matter was raised by Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauff Hakeem with a plea to reconsider the government’s decision at a meeting headed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, it was politely rejected by the latter.   

Hakeem cited that the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines had permitted burial of bodies of COVID-19 patients but the Prime Minister replied that every decision in respect of combating COVID-19 threat had been taken on the advice of the experts of the health sector. Dr. Jasinghe, who had endorsed the burial earlier, cited few reasons for the shift in government’s policy towards the issue. He stated that there is a possibility of soil being contaminated by burying dead bodies of corona- virus patients and further argued that the nature of soil in various areas in the country is so varied that it would be difficult for the authorities to have a uniform stand covering all parts of the country.   

"Muslims believe that the entire local Muslim community would be sinners unless at least four obligations assigned by the Almighty God to the community on a dead person such as bathing, dressing, praying and burying are fulfilled"

With these incidents being reported in the media, people got divided on ethnic and political lines to express their views - mostly communal hatred rather than intellectually sound arguments - on the matter, mainly over social media and a few people over the mainstream media. Both parties accused each other for being racists. In March, four clusters of COVID-19 cases were reported from four Muslim dominated areas within few consecutive days, leading to Muslims altogether being accused of spreading the virus. Hence, as a group of civil society activists pointed out in a statement, at least a section of Muslims perceived the government decision as a punitive measure.   

The debate, though overtly seemed to be between groups divided on communal lines, in fact it could not hide its political nature as well. When the Health Ministry issued its first set of guidelines on March 27 over disposal of dead bodies with two options - cremation and/ or burial, no expert expressed fear of soil or ground water becoming contaminated. Had the ministry not issued another set of guidelines recommending only cremation, the likelihood of a debate over the issue would have been minimal. The debate was provoked by the opposition by Muslims to the second set of guidelines.  

During a televised interview with a pro-government channel on April 2, President Counsel Ali Sabri, a strong loyalist of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the current Justice Minister too spoke in support of burial. However, his views were unnoticed by those described Hakeem as a racist for standing for a religious right of his community, despite the fact that Sabri too belonged to the same community.  In a third incident, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) on April 3  wrote to the DGHS suggesting him to consult a team of experts in relevant areas including soil analysis and  to decide the best course of action with regard to the disposal of bodies of those who die of COVID-19. According to the April 3 edition of Daily FT, the GMOA had stated that the WHO guidelines and the Quarantine Act allowed the option of both cremation and burial. The premier organisation of the country’s physicians seemed to be supportive of burial option. However, nobody protested against the organisation.   

Taking these three incidents into account, one would be compelled to see the politics involved in this debate. It is even clearer in light of the United National Party (UNP) and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) being of the view that the WHO guidelines must be followed in this regard. It is well- known that the SJB has a larger Muslim support base than what the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa was shouted down by the ruling party MPs last week when he attempted to speak in Parliament on the burial issue.   
Muslims believe that the entire local Muslim community would be sinners unless at least four obligations assigned by the Almighty God to the community on a dead person such as bathing, dressing, praying and burying are fulfilled. This is the rationale behind the strong concern by Muslims over the cremation of bodies of Muslims dying of COVID-19. Cremation of a body of a Muslim is hence out of the question.  

Yet, this is not an issue that can be resolved with religious beliefs or communal hatred. This is an unprecedented calamity that has befallen humankind. Views of the experts in the relevant field have to be followed while adhering as far as possible to such beliefs.  

Viruses can survive and multiply only in living cells, according to text books. But, we are told that survival of viruses on various other surfaces varies – hours in some cases and days in some others. We do not know how long the latest version of coronavirus can survive in the cells of a dead body. Also we do not know whether the body bags made of polythene or any other material and used to dispose bodies of patients dying of COVID-19 would decay or get destroyed in a grave before the viruses in those bodies disintegrate for want of living cells. In other words we do not know whether viruses would disintegrate before the body bags decayed or got destroyed in a grave. We do not know how long the viruses can survive in water or soil. We do not know whether there is a credible comparison of ground water level in Sri Lanka and other countries where the COVID-19 related dead bodies are buried. We do not know whether there is evidence to suggest that ground water has contributed to the  spread of COVID-19 in any country in the world. Therefore, it is up to the experts to take a decision on the matter.  
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said in early April that an experts committee would be appointed to take a decision. It is unfortunate that the experts have taken a long time for it.