PEOPLE ASKED TO BURY LOVED ONES WITHIN FOUR DAYS DUE TO HEAT WAVE

As if loadshedding isn’t enough, the heatwave currently settled in Gauteng and KZN has made life extremely difficult for funeral parlours.

So much so that an industry body has encouraged people to bury their loved ones within four days after their death.

National secretary-general of the South African Funeral Practitioners Association (SAFPA), Vuyisile Mabindisa has urged people to speed up the process in order to avoid decay.

“The industry is seeing a large number of putrefied bodies being buried. Burying one’s kin within four days, or less, is cost-effective and prevents families from seeing their departed ones in a poor state of decomposition.”

Not only will the matter ease the funeral parlour’s load, but it will also help people to avoid seeing their loved ones in a less-than-ideal state after their passing.

Mabindisa said the heatwave is causing havoc with bodies as the decomposition stage is happening so much faster than usual.

“Take a 45-year-old man with a history of diabetes: The minute he passes, he will start bloating within an hour. So if our refrigerators cannot manage decaying bodies, then we are looking at a disaster.”

Besides the impact of loadshedding on funeral parlours and loved ones during the burial, it also has a massive effect on getting the loved one’s death certificate.

Long lines at Home Affairs mean it’s already tricky to get a death certificate. Add loadshedding when the system is offline, and it’s a recipe for disaster that takes even longer than usual.

Image credit: Centratel