It has become part of my routine each morning - looking at the numbers in Johns Hopkins Covid-19 map - confirmed cases, deaths, recovered, particularly for Jordan where I am, the U.S. states where my children are, and the Philippines where my brothers and sisters live. As if the rise and fall of these numbers can somehow give some logic to a creeping anxiety about death and dying.
Of course they don't. The deaths are not mere numbers or even bodies. They are grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, spouses, children...
But we need to count the dead if only to properly deal with the practicalities not only of the health system but of the death system that societies have built as their duty to the dead. What is the capacity of morgues and funeral parlors? How do we deal with cultural or religious burial practices and still be vigilant about the risks of further infection when dead bodies are handled improperly?
The WHO has put out an interim guidance on Infection Prevention and Control for the safe management of a dead body in the context of COVID-19. The Social Science in Humanitarian Action published a tool for Assessing key considerations for burial practices, death and mourning in epidemics.
In Jordan, after the first Covid-19 death was reported about a week ago, the Head of Jordan's National Center for Forensic announced a set of burial procedures for people who die of the coronavirus, including not washing the dead body, cremating it, and burying it in a concrete grave. These procedures are a stark departure from how Muslims normally treat their dead but the pace and scale of this pandemic probably justify giving the state the power to go against cultural norms if it means avoiding more deaths.
As individuals and communities, we are also adapting to ways that would have normally gone against tradition. Like other communal activities around milestones of life (births, marriages, graduations), memorial services are moving online during this time of crisis.
Yes, we are now accepting how this pandemic is changing every aspect of our lives, including how we bury our dead and mourn together. There will be more deaths in the days and months to come. We probably will have to live with all kinds of anxieties and will suffer scars long after this pandemic. We just hope we evolve better and stronger, together.
Of course they don't. The deaths are not mere numbers or even bodies. They are grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, spouses, children...
But we need to count the dead if only to properly deal with the practicalities not only of the health system but of the death system that societies have built as their duty to the dead. What is the capacity of morgues and funeral parlors? How do we deal with cultural or religious burial practices and still be vigilant about the risks of further infection when dead bodies are handled improperly?
The WHO has put out an interim guidance on Infection Prevention and Control for the safe management of a dead body in the context of COVID-19. The Social Science in Humanitarian Action published a tool for Assessing key considerations for burial practices, death and mourning in epidemics.
In Jordan, after the first Covid-19 death was reported about a week ago, the Head of Jordan's National Center for Forensic announced a set of burial procedures for people who die of the coronavirus, including not washing the dead body, cremating it, and burying it in a concrete grave. These procedures are a stark departure from how Muslims normally treat their dead but the pace and scale of this pandemic probably justify giving the state the power to go against cultural norms if it means avoiding more deaths.
As individuals and communities, we are also adapting to ways that would have normally gone against tradition. Like other communal activities around milestones of life (births, marriages, graduations), memorial services are moving online during this time of crisis.
Yes, we are now accepting how this pandemic is changing every aspect of our lives, including how we bury our dead and mourn together. There will be more deaths in the days and months to come. We probably will have to live with all kinds of anxieties and will suffer scars long after this pandemic. We just hope we evolve better and stronger, together.
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