No cremations of COVID bodies in past 2 days in East Delhi's crematoriums as cases decline

For the first time in nearly two months, there were zero cases of cremation of COVID-19 bodies in East Delhi's crematoriums. In the recent wave of the devastating COVID-19 virus outbreak that had gripped the national capital since April, crematoriums remained overburdened. According to East MCD data, the number of cremations for the rest of the days was also significantly lower than the situation over the previous two months, when the city's crematorium employees were inundated with hundreds of bodies of those who died from COVID.

Zero cremations of Covid-19 bodies in Delhi

Mayor of East MCD Nirmal Jain informed, "I thank God for this relief to people. I am daily getting the data from cremation centres. There are zero cases of cremation from past 2-3 days as per the COVID Protocol." He added that the situation was grim previously.

Also, Karkardooma cremation ground worker Virender said, "There is some relief now than before. We did not receive COVID bodies for the last two to four days. Earlier, we used to cremate 25 to 27 COVID bodies every day."

Another worker at the Karkardooma cremation yard, Rohit, who works as a CNG operator, said, "Now the situation is quite normal. But earlier, there was no space even for standing there at the cremation centre. The situation was very bad. I pray people do not see such a situation again. ."

Coronavirus cases dip in Delhi

Jain stated, "I have seen the situation where people were approaching for cremation...there were long waiting hours at cremation centres. We had to arrange 200 separate spaces for the cremation of COVID bodies. We made extra space in the parking space of our cremation centre for this purpose."

On May 1, the cremation grounds in East Delhi had the largest number of COVID funerals ever recorded, with 100. During the latter two weeks of April and the first week of May, over 50 bodies were delivered to East Delhi crematoria daily.  On Monday, the North Delhi MCD reported 10 cremations and the South Delhi MCD reported 9 cremations.  According to COVID regulations, over 1,117 seats have been allotted for last rites at 28 MCD cremation sites.  On Monday, Delhi reported 231 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest number since March 2 and a 0.36 positive rate. On April 20, Delhi had the highest number of Coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last year, with 28,395 new cases.

Picture Credit: ANI