How Jakarta Buries Its Coronavirus Dead

The Jakarta provincial government has issued its standard funeral procedures to bury Covid-19 victims.

The procedures will also be used in the burials of suspect coronavirus patients, officially called "patients under observations" (PDP), who die before they could be swab-tested for Covid-19. 

According to the procedures, funeral service workers and families of the deceased who attend the funeral must wear protective gear including N95 masks, disposable safety coveralls and gloves.

The body of the deceased will be wrapped in a shroud and clean plastic to make sure there is no leakage of bodily fluid.

The body will then be put in a wooden coffin provided by the hospital, which will be wrapped again with plastic and then sprayed with disinfectant.

The whole process has to be done quickly inside the hospital's isolation room since the burial has to take place no more than four hours after the time of death. 

The body will be delivered by a special hearse to a designated public cemetery or a cremation site.

The plastic-wrapped coffin is not allowed to be opened for the burial or cremation.

Two public cemeteries have been prepared to take in Jakarta's coronavirus dead: Pondok Rangon in East Jakarta and Tegal Alur in West Jakarta.