Gravediggers offer prayers for COVID-19 victims

PUTRAJAYA: "The recitation of Al-Fatihah and prayers are offered as final 'gifts' from us to the remains of COVID-19 patients," said Yazrul Ekhzan, 42.

According to the staff of the Putrajaya Corporation Cemetery and Crematorium Sub-Unit, there was a time when he felt 'lonely' when handling the remains of COVID-19 patients as no next of kin were allowed to accompany the deceased on their final journey.

"It is hard to see that the relatives of a COVID-19 victim could not touch, hug or kiss the body for one last time. Some family members came to accompany the hearse but could not come near to the cemetery because of the standard operating procedures (SOP) in curbing the risk of infection," he told Bernama recently.

The heavy workload and less attention from the community could not break the spirit of Yazrul and his six other colleagues who work as gravediggers.

The father of four said they received phone calls almost every day from Putrajaya Hospital to dig graves because there will be bodies that will be sent to the Taman Selatan in Precinct 20 which has Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Christian cemeteries.

Upon receiving the task entrusted to them, Yazrul said he and his six other friends will proceed to the cemetery to ensure the remains were handled as soon as possible to avoid the risk of virus transmission.

"Teamwork is very important because we have to face unpredictable weather, especially when it is really hot or heavy rain," he said.

Some people are failing to understand that COVID-19 is something serious and it is sad to see that they are taking it lightly by not complying with the SOP set by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), said Yazrul who has been working as a gravedigger for nearly six months.

Meanwhile, his colleague, Zulkhurnain Abu Samah, 50, said gravediggers played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic even though they are not rescuing lives or maintaining public safety like other frontline workers.

"This is a trust and we have to carry it out with full dedication despite the difficulties. When COVID-19 first hit the country, we were worried about handling the bodies because at that time there was not much information on the virus and its danger level.

"As the daily cases surge and the death toll also increases, we need to execute this task as well as we could," he said.

Another colleague, Mohd Rizal Othman, 41, said so far, none of them have been infected or quarantined.

"Alhamdulillah...we are safe until today. Besides all the prayers, we always ensure that the SOP for funeral and burial management set by the Putrajaya District Health Office (PKD) is complied with, especially involving the correct use of the PPE suits," he said.

-- BERNAMA