Kasese district COVID-19 task force has directed that all burial ceremonies in the district take place before mid-day to minimise human interaction.
The order follows an upsurge of coronavirus disease cases in the district as the country continues to battle the second wave of the pandemic. Kasese district has recorded more than 160 positive COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths since the second wave began last month.
Last week alone, the district registered 72 cases with five referrals. Joshua Masereka, the Kasese deputy resident district commissioner, says to limit the infections, they are trying to limit the time people spend on burials as a measure of enforcing the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He says that longer burial ceremonies often attract high numbers of people, allow a lot of time for interaction and violation of other procedures like social distancing. Masereka says that the burial time restriction applies to COVID-19 victims and other deaths.
Gregory Kombi, the Bwera sub-county chairperson LC III has welcomed the directive, noting that people have deliberately failed to comply with the burial guidelines issued by the president.
Jackeline Masika, a resident of Kasese questioned the relevancy of the directive by the task force if the numbers of mourners have already been restricted to 20 people. He says close relatives from far distant places are already barred from travelling to send off their loved ones and hence it makes no sense to define the burial times.
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