COVID-19 cemetery in Cebu City put on hold

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The public cemetery for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) victims that was planned for Barangay Sapangdaku in Cebu City has been put on hold.

Councilor David Tumulak, who authored the ordinance establishing the Cebu City Memorial Garden said that there is no more urgency to construct the cemetery because the COVID-19 cases in the city had dropped.

FILE PHOTO: A computer image created by Nexu Science Communication together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus which is the type of virus linked to COVID-19. /via REUTERS

For November 2020, only three deaths were recorded by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Tumulak said that there are also various issues surrounding the site in Barangay Sapangdaku mostly with regards to the environment.

It can be remembered that the Department of Health thumbed down the project because the water runoff from the site may cause contamination to the waterways and wells in the areas.

“Of course we don’t want to start a project that the residents are not comfortable with,” said Tumulak.

For now, the cemetery construction will be put on hold as the city redesigns the project to address the concerns of the state health agency.

Still, Tumulak said the city government is determined to build the cemetery in the future because there is a real need for additional space for burial.

The cemetery should be there in case of another pandemic or any disaster. This way the city has prepared a decent resting place for its residents.

Since there will be no need for an urgent public cemetery anymore, Tumulak urged the public to remain vigilant against the virus so that there will be no more victims of COVID-19 /rcg.