The City of Cape Town COCT said cemeteries will be closed for burials on Christmas day, however, it will still be open for visitations.
According to Councillor Patricia van der Ross, there has been an increase in visitors over the festive period as families pay their respects to loved ones whom they’ve lost, and who are buried in the City’s cemeteries.
Van der Ross said there’s been no dramatic spike in fatalities during the fourth wave, and City cemetery operations have not been significantly impacted, which means visitations can’t be curbed at this time.
Also read: COVID-19: Hospitalisations continuing to increase in the WC
In the past week, City cemeteries also recorded 289 burials, up from 224 the week before. At the Maitland Crematorium, there were 107 cremations in the past week, compared to 104 the previous week.
“As we head into the peak festive season, I want to remind our residents to exercise caution and be extremely vigilant. We continue to experience a very high COVID-19 infection rate. And even though hospitalisations and death remain relatively low, the risk of contracting the virus, and infecting someone who is immune-compromised should be a concern to us all.
“Our Environmental Health Practitioners continue to flag the apparent increase in non-adherence to the most basic safety protocols in some of our communities,” Van der Ross adds.
Cemeteries will operate until 1pm only on the following days:
- Sunday, December 26 2021
- Friday, December 31 2021
- Saturday, January 1 2022
- Sunday, January 2 2022
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