By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Jan 29: Only immediate family members are allowed to attend funeral ceremonies for now under Movement Control Order (MCO) and Conditional MCO.
State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) chairman Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas announced this in the latest updates on standard operating procedures (SOP) for funeral ceremonies.
“It is also mandatory to inform the District Offices and the police in order to facilitate control enforcement,” he told a press conference to update the Covid-19 situation in Sarawak today.
According to the SOP issued, it is compulsory for Village Security and Development Committees (JKKKs) to report any deaths at residentials, longhouses and villages to the police station and District Offices.
JKKKs are empowered to enforce compliance of SOP in villages and longhouses as well as to control movement activity of the public to villages and longhouses and when necessary, take other safety actions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
JKKK should also take a record of attendance either by manual book recording or with MySejahtera app.
This order is applied to pre- and post-funeral ceremonies including wake, ‘ngetas ulit’ and others.
Attendance at pre-and post-funeral ceremonies are still limited to 30 immediate family members at any one time but subjected to the size of venues where it is held including homes, longhouses or funeral parlours after taking into account physical distancing of at least one metre.
As for the burial ceremony, only 20 immediate family members including service bearers are allowed.
Children aged 12 and below and high-risk groups are discouraged from attending any form of funeral ceremonies.
Any individuals with symptoms of fever, cough, flu or detected with body temperature over 37.5 degree Celsius are prohibited from attending any funeral ceremonies.
Attendees are also not allowed to share food and beverage utensils including glasses, plates, bowls, fork and spoon. All food and beverages should be distributed in packages.
All gambling activities including holo, card games and others are not allowed.
Provide clear floor and door markers to guide people coming in one door and out from another door.
A counter should be set up at the entrance to check the body temperature of attendees as well as to ensure that all attendees check-in manually or via MySejahtera app and have their face masks on.
Heads of household, Village Security and Development Committees (JKKKs) or operators of funeral parlours must ensure compliance with SOP throughout the funeral and burial ceremonies, especially physical distancing.
For attendees, they must wear face masks at all times and wash their hands frequently with soap or use hand sanitisers.
Physical greetings or contact with one another is discouraged and crowding of common areas as well as mingling in close proximity should be avoided. -DayakDaily
The latest funeral SOP issued by SDMC.
