CoViD 19 – a point of view as a medicolegal officer! – part 1
No one will dare to question the importance of containing this viral outbreak and many measures are being taken by many authorities on various fronts. We, as Sri Lankans should support and adhere to all the guidelines whole heartedly with no ifs and buts in order to defeat this virus. In order to succeed we should avoid any conflicts based on gender, race, religion, economy or whatever. We should make sure all the measures are evidence based, practical and efficient to combat this outbreak.
One of the burning issues raised in this difficult time was regarding the disposal of deaths due to CoViD 19. Ministry of Health (MoH) in collaboration with College of Forensic Pathologist (CFPSL) ultimately issued guidelines mandating cremation of deaths due to CoViD 19 even though there was a confusion for a short period.
In normal circumstances, Muslims, Catholics and Jews prefer burial and avoid cremation. However, there was an opposition voiced mainly by Muslim community to the guideline mandating cremation which could compromise the fight against the spread of CoViD 19. The guidelines of other countries and World health Organization (WHO) were put forward to support the burial.
The direct importation of guidelines from other countries or WHO is practically impossible due to obvious reasons of not having a well-established and regulated services of funeral directors and many other variables. Moreover, this is a time where all communities should work hand in hand with authorities rather than fighting for their cultural practices. As a person belonging to Muslim community and working in the field of Judicial Medicine, I would urge my fellow Muslims to follow the guidelines issued by MoH in order to fight this virus.
On a special note Muslim theologians and intellectuals, please reevaluate the stand on cremation on this unforeseen circumstance to put the fellow Muslims at ease for the sake of themselves and country. After all, Islam is a religion which makes matters easy to human beings and never the contrary.
