Sombre burial for BCM Covid-19 victim

The burial of one the first people to die from Covid-19 in Buffalo City was conducted on Thursday by 12 people, some clad in hazmat suits, in what a family member described as a moment that made the victim seem “valueless”.

DispatchLIVE reported on Thursday that Ntomboxolo Mfana, 69, had died from Covid-19-related complications at Grey Hospital in King William’s Town earlier this week.

She had been rushed to the hospital on Sunday and succumbed on Tuesday.

Mfana and her husband Mzimkhulu as well as their grandchildren, aged five and 13, all tested positive for the coronavirus.

Her burial was a far cry from the usually packed funerals in Dimbaza and elsewhere around the Eastern Cape.

In line with Covid-19 regulations, the body was transported straight from the mortuary to the burial site in Dimbaza.

At the burial site on Thursday morning, Mfana’s nephew, Ntuthuzelo Eugene Mfaka, posted a captioned photograph on Facebook showing the scene.

He wrote: “Siphelele ke apha [This is all of us]. That is how valueless a person is in this Covid 19 pandemic. We’ve buried her.”

He said religious observances had been conducted at the burial site. “I said Covid-19 or no Covid-19, God will protect me, I must honour her day.”

Mfaka said his uncle, who already suffers from an underlying illness, and the two grandchildren had been transported to the Frere Hospital on Wednesday evening.

BCM spokesperson Sam Ngwenya said the city had been digging graves in all BCM villages.

“This is to ensure that people in our rural areas do not gather to dig as has been [previously] the norm.”

According to Covid-19 guidelines on funerals services, the following has to be observed:

• A maximum of 50 people are allowed to attend a funeral procession;

• Out of that number, only 25 will proceed to the grave;

• Social distancing must be practised;

• The family compiles a register with names, ID numbers, contact details and residential addresses of those who will be present at the funeral;

• Only family members return to the home for family lunch;

• The municipal law division is present to ensure that guidelines are adhered to;

• To get a funeral permit, families have to contact their respective municipal managers.

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