All expenses of funeral services for people who die from COVID-19 will be funded by the Ho Chi Minh City budget, Nguyen Toan Thang, director of the municipal Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday morning.

The financial aid for each case, at VND17 million (US$739), is deducted from the city’s coffers.

The amount is expected to cover all costs of burial, transportation, cremation, and delivery of the ashes to the relatives of the deceased, according to Thang.

“The city authorities will try to do this process [the funeral services] in the safest and most solemn way,” Thang asserted.

The municipal Department of Health will receive and transfer the aids to hospitals where COVID-19 patients pass away.

COVID-19 patients who die at home will receive the financial support from authorities in their wards and communes.

With a death certificate of the deceased, family members can carry out the procedures to receive the aid from their local authorities.

Thang added that the cremation of the deceased is being carried out at four venues in the city, including Binh Hung Hoa Cemetery in Binh Tan District, Da Phuoc Cemetery in Binh Chanh District, Phuc An Vien Cemetery in Thu Duc City, and Thap Long Tho Cemetery in Cu Chi District.

The city authorities have worked with the management boards of those cemeteries to ensure that all cases are admitted and handled at reasonable fees, the environment director affirmed.

As for large numbers of ambulances which carried coffins and were parked in a long line on Tan Ky Tan Quy Street leading to Binh Hung Hoa Cemetery as seen in videos circulated on social media, Thang explained that the venue has been dealing with not only COVID-19 deaths but also those from other diseases, while the road was so narrow.

Thang also said that he inspected Binh Hung Hoa Cemetery on Friday afternoon.

Before that, he had requested functional forces to reorganize the traffic flow through this cemetery and arrange parking lots for 20 vehicles arriving at the same time so as not to cause traffic disorder and affect people in the area.

Regarding the reports that funeral facilities charge exorbitant prices, Thang advised people not use services from businesses that demand high service fees and find others offering the same prices as set by the city authorities.

“People can also ask Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Co. Ltd. (CITENCO) for support and introduction [of reputable funeral services],” the director said.

According to Tuoi Tre reporters’ research, CITENCO currently charges VND4.2 million ($182) per cremation case, while other facilities ask for a little higher amount from VND4.5-5 million ($196-217).

Other expenses, which can be much higher than the aforementioned amount, are spent on other services provided by funeral facilities.

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