The ban on open-air pyre cremations of COVID-19 fatalities has been lifted.
The announcement came on Thursday from Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi in a statement to the media. The lifting of the ban comes as the State faced two separate legal challenges to the policy guidelines set out by the Minister of Health to funeral homes and hospitals on how to treat COVID-19 fatalities.
In the statement, the AG’s office said a series of meetings were held with Prime Minister, Government Ministers and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roshan Parasram and a team from the Maha Sabha, which included its legal advisor Dinesh Rambally. The statement said after broad consideration it was decided “to direct that permission be granted for the holding of open-air pyre cremations for COVID-19 victims.” The AG said the Public Health Regulations, guidelines and protocols were not static.