Cremation worries in virus-hit Philippines

Doing their part: A Filipino priest and church volunteers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) making their way to the homes of people with disabilities to give blessings in Caloocan, Metro Manila. — Reuters

Families of coronavirus victims in the Philippines are being denied traditional death rites in favour of hurried, impersonal cremations, with virus restrictions often meaning they are forbidden a last look at their loved ones.

It is a painful and disorienting process for both the families and crematory workers that has upended the Philippines’ intimate rituals of laying the dead to rest.