595 INFECTIONS IN A DAY: Aklan prepares cemeteries for COVID-19 fatalities as cases swell

By Jennifer P. Rendon

COVID-19 fatalities in Aklan province will literally end up six feet below the ground.

This, after the Aklan provincial government sent notice to 17 municipal mayors to prepare burial grounds for COVID-19 fatalities after a crematorium in Iloilo City temporarily refused to accept cadavers since Monday.

Worse, the province logged almost 600 cases on Tuesday, the highest single day spike in a province in Western Visayas.

In a letter dated August 2, 2021, Governor Florencio Miraflores said Gegato Abecia Funeral Parlor and Crematorium in Iloilo City temporarily stopped accepting bodies for cremation because of the “huge volume of cadaver they receive daily.”

Miraflores said local governments should prepare burial grounds for COVID-19 victims.

The Aklan provincial health office reported that 4 to 5 persons die from COVID daily. The province recently escalated to Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) from August 1 to 15 due to rising cases.

On Monday evening, it was gathered that two COVID-19 fatalities were buried in a cemetery in the capital of Kalibo town.

One was laid to rest in a public cemetery while another was in a private graveyard.

Mayor Emerson Lachica said the decision was an offshoot of Miraflores’ advise. He assured that proper protocol was observed in burying the dead.

Lachica said he also asked the Sangguniang Bayan to pass a resolution for the purchase of a lot that would serve as a burial ground for those who died from COVID-19.

Lachica will also try to get Miraflores’ nod to establish a graveyard in the province where COVID-19 fatalities will be laid to rest.

Dr. Cornelio Cuachon of the Aklan Provincial Health Office has assured that they would strictly follow the guidelines stipulated under Presidential Decree No. 856 (Code on Sanitation of the Philippines) in burying Covid-19 fatalities.

Fatalities should be buried within 12 hours after death.

Aside from digging at least six feet below the ground, the body should also be placed inside a sealed metal casket or coffin.

The burial ground would also serve as the final resting place for persons who belong to religious denominations that prohibit cremation.

HIGHEST SINGLE-DAY SPIKE

Meanwhile, Aklan logged an all-time high 595 new cases on Tuesday, August 3, 2021.

Data from the Department of Health Region 6 (DOH-6) indicated that the 595 cases were among the almost 1,000 new cases recorded in the region yesterday.

The latest number pushes Aklan’s COVID-19 tally to 2,137 cases with 95 deaths.

Meanwhile, Region 6 also recorded 619 additional recoveries and 15 mortalities.

Aklan’s average daily attack rate is classified as high risk at 21.29 percent in the recent 1-2 weeks.

From July 1 to July 31, Aklan recorded 3,735 new cases which is the second highest number of additional cases next to Iloilo province (4,603). (With a report from ERS)