The City of Johannesburg has announced new guidelines on burials and cremations in response to the 21-day lockdown announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for Community Development, Margeret Arnolds, announced the measures on March 26.
“In the light of the 21-day lockdown, the following temporary measures have been put in place to comply with the regulations that have been gazetted by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA),” said Arnolds.
These are intended to enforce the required measure as they relate to social distancing, limits in movement and public gatherings.
The following measures have been put in place and are in effect immediately as of the issuance of this statement:
• Funeral booking offices will be opened from Monday to Friday with skeleton officials.
• Burial and cremation bookings can be processed within a 24-hour notice period.
• Burials will be conducted daily to reduce weekend congestion.
• Re-open (re-use of graves) applications are subjected to a 48-hour notice period.
• All burial processions should have less than 50 people gathering at any given time with the emphasis being on fewer, if possible.
• Cremations services are limited to less than 40 people at the chapel and will be undertaken on a daily basis.
• Funeral ushering services will be in place.
• TLBs will be made available to assist with grave closures during this period only.
• Grave tracing processes will be halted during the lockdown period.
• The public is encouraged to adhere to all health and safety measures that are in place and practise social distance during all funerals processes.
“As a City, we are taking these drastic measures to ensure compliance with the National State of Disaster declared and to assist our residents bury their loved ones in dignity while also protecting themselves and those around them from infection. We plead with bereaved families to take caution and to adhere to these guidelines,” said Arnolds.
