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Singapore: Singapore’s contractors are preparing to provide more services for COVID-19 deaths, and some funeral services agencies said that during the pandemic, the way relatives remember the dead has changed.
On Wednesday (October 20), Singapore recorded 18 deaths due to complications of COVID-19, the highest daily death toll since the beginning of the pandemic. The death toll from the coronavirus is now 264.
Calvin Tang, general manager of Singapore Coffin, told CNA that it handled about 20 COVID-19 funerals in October, double the total number of the previous month.
Mr. Tang said that he is working hard to ensure that the company has enough manpower to handle more and more services, and he has to recall workers on leave.
He said: “We are still dealing with other funerals, not just COVID-19. All families need to be well taken care of.” “As the number of cases increases… we have to plan very carefully.”
Mr. Ang Ziqian, managing director of Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors, said that learning lessons from the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic, the company has already stockpiled “months and months” of supplies, including individuals Protective equipment.
Mr. Ang said that even before the first COVID-19 death was recorded in Singapore last year, the company told its employees that they must “step up” to deal with the death.
Mr. Jeffrey Lee of Simplicity Casket, a subsidiary of Singapore Casket, said that since the end of September, the company has begun to receive more inquiries, including some special requirements.
He said, for example, for health and safety reasons, some families authorize the undertaker to handle the funeral — from the collection of the dead body to the cremation — in their absence.
Manpower is also very tight, because the company avoids assigning employees to the second task after completing the COVID-19 funeral.
“They will go back to the office to take a shower and wash their hair before going to the next task. So we need extra manpower,” he said.
Simpler funeral service
Some people say that in general, funerals have become simpler, and the requirements for direct cremation have increased.
The funeral director of Singapore funeral home, Mr. He Darren, said that in the past, funerals sometimes lasted five days, but now they are often three days or less.
He also received more direct cremation requests without the need for a night watch.
Wake up is also quieter-although music is still allowed, wind instruments cannot be used, and the number of participants is limited.
Current safety management measures allow up to 30 people to be awakened or buried and cremated at any time. The guidelines stipulate that religious workers, funeral directors and musicians should be kept to a minimum.
Mourners are asked to minimize interaction with other participants, and are not allowed to set up buffets or receptions where food and drinks are provided. It is also not allowed to provide small packages of beverages or individually packaged tidbits.
Mr. He said: “Because these items are perishable, once they are close to the expiration date, we have no choice to throw them away.”
Mr. Tang said that Singapore Coffin has set up more live broadcast services for family and friends who cannot go to the death ceremony in person.
He said that some people also asked to take photos and send them to them so that they could keep memories of their loved ones.
As the death toll from COVID-19 rises, Mr. Hong said he decided to launch a campaign to urge people to get vaccinated.
“There is a lot of information… but if the information comes from a funeral and interment company, it emphasizes that if you don’t get vaccinated, there will be dire consequences,” he said.
“If we don’t reduce the number of (infected), the frontline staff will be overwhelmed…If the death toll continues to rise, the next frontline professional who is overwhelmed will be our funeral service staff.”
