Hundreds Of Prisoners In Ecuador Help The Government Build Coffins For COVID-19 Victims

Ilustrasi Peti Mati (Photo by WantTo Create on Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Increasingly, the number of people contaminated by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to increase. At the same time, the death rate caused by the corona virus is also not small.

This has led a number of countries to produce coffins, as a funeral procession for COVID-19 patients. To meet the needs of coffins, the Government of Ecuador invited hundreds of prisoners to produce burial places for victims of the corona virus.

As reported by Reuters, prisoners in Ambato, a town south of the capital Quito, started using confiscated wood from environmental authorities to make coffins. Later, hundreds of coffins will be distributed to areas that have the number of victims who died from COVID-19.

"The Ministry of Environment donated confiscated wood, which will be used for another purpose, a noble cause: Give wooden coffins to families who have lost loved ones," Ecuador's Environment Minister Juan DeHowitt said in a statement.

The lack of wood supplies to make coffins forced the people of Guayaquil to bury their relatives in a cardboard city. The choice of cardboard boxes is an alternative when the price of wooden coffins is expensive.

Given that Ecuador currently has 4,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 272 having died. This makes many hearses have to take turns to transport and bury corona patients who have died.

Even some of those who died were medical personnel in charge of handling COVID-19 patients. In total, until now the number of nurses who have contracted COVID-19 is around 147 people. This made 120 other nurses resign for fear of contracting them.

The spike in the number of deaths was also expressed by the President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno. He has warned that the number of deaths from COVID-19 in Guayas province could increase to 3,500.

To that end, Authorities have created an emergency public cemetery, and Ecuador's Interior Minister Maria Paula Romo said on Thursday that the government will start regulating the price of existing funeral services.