City of Cape Town struggling to keep up with demand for cremations
By Robin-Lee Francke
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Cape Town - The Maitland Crematorium has reported a high demand for cremations due to Covid-19 deaths, the City of Cape Town said on Tuesday.
Mayco member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien said the crematorium was operating at full capacity, but due to the high volumes there may be a delay in having ashes available for collection.
Badroodien said the demand for cremations had increased by three times more than before the pandemic. Although burials remained high, there was a downward trend, with 500 in the past week.
The demand for cremations is almost three times more than before the pandemic. Although burials still remain high, this is on a downward trend, with 500 the past week.
Relax While this is good news, the bad news is that people use it as an opportunity to relax health protocols and forgo wearing masks and regular hand washing. The possibility of further waves is real and we cannot allow ourselves to be caught off guard, said the City s mayoral committee member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien.
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The City adds that it has considered and implemented options to further increase capacity at the crematorium, which includes extended operating hours, installing additional temporary storage capacity, and seeking authorisation from the Provincial Air Emissions Authority to operate the older cremators at the facility.
The Western Cape has recorded more than 10 000 Covid-19 fatalities.
The province is second in terms of fatalities, behind the Eastern Cape, which, by Wednesday, had 10 229 deaths.
The City of Cape Town says there has been a 180% increase of interments since the outbreak of the virus.
The Western Cape has passed the 10 000 Covid-19-related death mark, despite a decline in fatalities.
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On Wednesday, the province recorded an additional 95 deaths, taking the total to 10 075, according to the provincial government s statistics. At this stage, we all have either lost a loved one, a family member, a friend or a colleague, or we know someone who is grieving, Premier Alan Winde said in a statement.
Western Cape surpasses 10,000 Covid-19 deaths mark – The Citizen citizen.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from citizen.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The City of Cape Town says burials have shown a slight decline over the past two weeks, however, demand remains high.
City cemeteries have seen a slight drop in burials for the second week in a row.
There were 622 burials this past week, compared to 662 the previous week.
According to provincial health officials, the Western Capeâs Covid-19 surge has ended and active cases have been on a sustained decline.
The City s mayoral committee member for community services and health, Zahid Badroodien, says the declining burial figures reflect the downward trend in the metro s rate of infection.
While numbers are encouraging, councillor Badroodien says residents must continue practicing Covid-19 safety protocols.