The Galle Additional Magistrate has ordered for the body of a COVID-19 victim to be refrigerated instead of being cremated.

Considering a request made by the relatives of the deceased, the magistrate has ordered the body to be placed in a mortuary refrigerator at the Karapitiya Hospital until the decision of the Committee appointed by the government is out.

The deceased COVID-19 patient is a Muslim father of three residing in Dodugoda, Galle.

While the Coroner of the Karapitiya Hospital Chandrasena Lokuge recommended that the body be cremated as per quarantine laws, the son of the deceased had stated that they will not claim the body if it is cremated.

When the case was taken up today (21), attorneys representing the relatives of the deceased requested the body to be preserved in a freezer until the report of the committee appointed to look into the action to be taken regarding the bodies of Muslim COVID-19 victims.

Considering the submissions of both parties, Galle Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeewani Pathirana instructed the police to take necessary action after informing the Director-General of Health Services in this regard.