Video: Funeral directors fear flood of victims

Funeral directors, who are battling to stay ahead of the flood of bodies, fear that the second wave of Covid-19 is destined to lead to even more deaths than the first.

Using trends in the South African funeral industry as a barometer for the rate of Covid-19 deaths, the South African Funeral Directors Association spokesperson Vuyo Mabindisa said the next two months were likely to see plenty more Covid-19 carnage.

Business had yet to slow down in the industry since the festive season, when a national shortage of coffins was reported. According to Mabindisa, the usual high death rate in the winter last year was matched in the summer months, indicating an unusual number of deaths by natural causes, even among those who were not officially diagnosed with Covid-19.

“Usually most undertakers in the winter will have double the staff members. One group would be dealing with infected cases while another would be on quarantine. So come December, when we thought we could be allowed to go on leave, then there was a high rate of infected people. We had to bring them back, but obviously at a cost,” said Mabindisa.

He added that the industry was concerned that many South Africans may not be able to wait until winter for a vaccine, as they are preparing for a spike in demand for their services in the next two to three months.

While the official number of Covid-19 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in March last year stood at 34 334, data from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) in their weekly report on excess deaths show that the true number could be nearly double.

The council’s latest figure for excess deaths in the country, which account for death by natural causes otherwise unclassified, stood at 71,778. According to the latest report, the number of estimated excess deaths has begun to decrease, consistent with the trend in the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths. While more data was needed on the underlying causes of death, this observation strongly supported the theory that that a significant proportion of the current excess mortality being observed in South Africa is likely to be attributable to COVID-19.

This comes as hospitals, including Tshwane’s Steve Biko Academic hospital, are experiencing unprecedented hospitalisation numbers and were forced to erect overflow tents for patients waiting to be admitted to the Covid-19 wards.

Mabindisa urged government to fast-track the roll-out of the vaccines, saying by winter, it would be too late for thousands of people.

Read More: SA’s total outlay for vaccinations could be no more than R8,6 billion

“It’s scary because of the number of infected people is more than before,” said Mabindisa.

“ In the two months two months to come, if our immunes systems deteriorate, more deaths will come and we are planning three months in advance that we are going to have a problem. Obviously the government also planned for that. They are telling us that there is a second wave and in the second quarter of the year there will be a vaccine. That vaccine will follow a hierarchy, but most people are going to die.”

In July last year, funeral directors caught unprepared for the onslaught of Covid-19 deaths were forced to purchase mobile cold storage facilities and extend their services, as the industry was overwhelmed with the rate of bodies piling up in the mortuaries.

Mabindisa said the association welcomed the announcement by Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi this week that the department would extend operating hours at its branches. This was because one of their biggest challenges, despite months of lobbying, was the bottleneck caused by delays in the is using of death certificates.

These delays meant that families of those who died of Covid-19 often did not meet the 48 – hour deadline by which they had to be buried. It also caused a bottleneck in the delivery of bodies to private mortuaries.

Mabindisa said this has lead to many small directors being forced to give burials on credit as funeral policies refused to release funds to families without a death certificate.

Motsoaledi’s spokesperson, Siyabulela Qoza said the longer service hours at Home Affairs branches were already in effect.

– Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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