Metro’s crematorium remain closed amid Covid-19 surge

With the country experiencing increased numbers of people dying daily mostly due to Covid-19, the City of Ekurhuleni’s crematorium remain unavailable for those who favour the option of cremating their loved ones.

Apart from the emotional distress, families who have lost their loved ones are also facing a logistical nightmare in performing the last rites.
This is because the City’s crematorium is not discharging its much-needed responsibilities.

While the metro had not yet responded to our request for comment, several local funeral parlours approached by the Advertiser confirmed that the City’s crematorium is non-operational, and as a result, they are forced to travel to distant places to have bodies cremated.

One of the local undertakers, who asked not to be identified, said early this year they received an email from the metro stating the City’s crematorium would remain closed while maintenance works are carried out.
“I know of some who travel to places as far as Mpumalanga, but we normally take our bodies to places like Krugersdorp and other facilities in the Johannesburg metro,” said the undertaker.

Crematoriums are struggling to cope
To make matters worse, finding the crematorium slots in these facilities outside Ekurhuleni is not always easy, according to the undertaker.

The undertaker pointed out that with the unprecedented number of deaths during the current wave of Covid-19 and the influx of bodies from Ekurhuleni, crematoriums in the aforementioned areas are inundated.
Grieving relatives of the dead are apparently forced to wait weeks for the bodies of their loved ones to be cremated.

“Families want their loved ones’ bodies cared for as quickly as possible, but the lack of cremation facilities in our area makes it difficult for us funeral directors to meet the normal turnaround time for cremations.
“Serious backlogs have been created at the cremation facilities we currently use, leading to relatives of the deceased waiting for unreasonable times. That’s distressing for grieving families.
“As of August 12, the next available slot in one of the facilities we use was on September 15 and another one towards the end of September.”

Crisis pushes up the cost
The local undertaker stated the prevailing situation is forcing them to spend more money to get the cremation of bodies performed.

“Financially, this has impacted us badly as we now need to travel extra kilometres.
“With the increased demand, the option of using efficiently run and managed crematoriums in our area should be readily available to communities, especially now that there is limited space for burials.
“Opening the Ekurhuleni crematorium in Benoni can help a lot to ease the backlog and alleviate pressure on the facilities in neighbouring cities.”

It’s still unclear as to when the local facility, which serves many communities in Ekurhuleni, will resume operations. 

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