THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON RELIGIOUS FUNERALS

When an individual dies it is customary for his/her body to be disposed of on the basis of religion and faith. However, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, questions have emerged based on the unprecedented health risks associated with the spread of the virus, on whether a body infected with COVID-19 should be buried or should rather be cremated.

Countries like the United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Italy and some Middle Eastern nations like Iran, are allowing burial of the bodies of COVID-19 victims. In these countries authorities do not regard the spreading the virus due to the act of burying as a major concern. However, funeral workers in Iran, the worst affected country in the Middle East, have reportedly refused to cleanse the COVID-19 dead because of fear of transmission of the virus from the corpses. Under Islamic religion, the bodies should be wrapped in burial shrouds with the regular prayer being performed during burial and in Iran it is now mainly volunteers who perform these rites.

In Italy the health authorities have taken a stricter approach by forbidding funerals. Families are also forbidden from visiting the deceased, as the virus can survive on clothes posthumously and may escalate the danger of contagion. These actions go against the traditional funeral rites of Roman Catholics, and is “unprecedented for a country with such strong Roman Catholic values”. In Tanzania, there have been a large number of night burials evidently shown in videos on social media, which reflect a violation of religious rights to perform funeral rites in accordance with the religion of the deceased.

Sri Lanka has taken some of the strictest measures, by making cremation of dead bodies affected by COVID-19 mandatory. This is in violation of the Muslim community’s religious rights related to burial. The order has been resented by Muslims community leaders who filed fundamental rights petitions before the Sri Lankan Supreme Court emphasizing the practice of burial as an integral part of funeral rites in Islam.

Given these different impacts on religious beliefs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a question that should be asked is whether government authorities or citizens of a country may obstruct or object to religious practices during the funeral of a person who died due to coronavirus? This questions should be answered particularly against the background of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) statement that there is no confirmation of persons having developed the disease from exposure to a body of someone who died from COVID-19. 

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION BACKING FOR BURIAL RIGHTS

According to the WHO, “[i]t is a common myth that persons who have died of a communicable disease should be cremated”. Cremation is a path of “cultural choice and available resources” and so is burial. The WHO also confirms that cadavers do not transmit any disease unless if it is not handled suitably during an autopsy to avoid infection. Therefore, the WHO concludes that “the dignity of the dead and their cultural-religious rights should be respected even during a pandemic” and requested authorities to balance the religious rights of every individual that died due to coronavirus with the health and safety of the general public. 

The WHO recommends packing and transporting a body “fully sealed in an impermeable body bag before being removed from the isolation area to avoid leakage of body fluid” as the novel coronavirus transmits through “respiratory droplets and contact routes”. Furthermore, the WHO recommends that during performing the funeral rites, family and friends may view the body after it has been prepared for burial/cremation, in accordance with customs. They should not touch or kiss the body and should perform hand hygiene after the funeral. Mandatorily, the health workers and other funeral related staff should wear gloves and wash hands with soap and water after proper disposal of the gloves and masks once the burial/cremation is complete.   

One way to ensure protection of public health and safety during funerals is to ensure that social distancing is strictly followed amid cremation and burial rites. Secondly, proper management of disposal ought to be in congruence with the WHO and government guidelines. Permission to perform funeral rites must include the right to perform a decent burial and to be provided with all the facilities and health services to contain the virus. If all the precautions are duly taken, then there is no need for proclamation of mandatory cremation or burial. 

BEST PRACTICES FROM INDIA

In India, residents of Bandra in Maharashtra State issued a petition challenging a municipal circular which allowed the burial of all bodies of COVID-19 victims in cemeteries, claiming high probability of contamination. The Bombay High Court dismissed the petition and asserted that “there is no scientific proof to support the apprehension” and hence, for now, it cannot be concluded that coronavirus could spread through cadavers. The court further confirmed the protection of every person’s right to dignity and fair treatment under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, and that the right to decent burial is recognised as a facet of the right to life under the Article 21.

Another incident occurred with the death of a 68-year-old woman in Delhi who had tested positive for COVID-19, when authorities at the cremation ground refused to cremate her on the ground of high probability of contamination due to cremation. This shows the obstruction being faced by the people while performing funeral rites, including through protests by people living in the vicinity of cremation grounds in Delhi and West Bengal. Following such incidents, the government in West Bengal State issued an advisory emphasizing that there is no evidence of smoke generated from pyres causing COVID-19 to spread.

After numerous conflicts between citizens and the State, the Indian Union health ministry adopted guidelines which allow both burial and cremation on the ground that there is no scientific data to prove that the virus can be transmitted through the deceased. These guidelines for disposal of COVID-19 victims’ bodies state that the body would be handled by a trained health professional with all the due precautions and vigilance ensuring “minimum touch” with the body under the notion of social distancing. It further proclaims that there must be a strict adherence to standard precautions by the health workers in handling the bodies and by cremation/ burial ground staff to ensure proper sanitization of the ground after performing funeral rites. The mortuary staff and other death care workers must be provided with appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) including facial protection to protect them from exposure to infected bodies.

Henceforth it should not be a choice between a decent funeral and public health. As held by the Indian courts, the right to health is also inherent to a life (and death) with dignity.  Individual rights related to burial must be protected by national authorities as well as co-citizens of a country, even during a pandemic. 

Harshita is currently pursuing a BA.LLB.(Hons.) at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, India. Her research interests include Criminal Law and Human Rights Law.

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