Sri Lanka to Continue with Cremation of Covid-19 Victims Amid Opposition from Muslims

Sri Lanka will continue to cremate those dying from the novel coronavirus as per the recommendation by an experts’ panel, the country’s health minister said on Thursday, despite strong opposition from the minority Muslim community. Sri Lanka amended a law in April last year to make cremations compulsory for people dying from coronavirus to prevent any potential threat even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) approves the burials.

The government appointed an experts’ panel to give it recommendations if the deceased be buried. Health minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi told parliament that the panel reported that cremations would be the ideal method for the deceased.

“We have no intention to deviate from the report based on any ethnic or religious considerations, Wanniarachchi said. She was answering a query from the opposition legislator Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalam who noted that virologists had certified that burials did not lead to the spread of the coronavirus disease.

Muslim groups…