The government-appointed committee is scheduled to meet today to decide whether to cremate or bury the dead bodies of people infected with coronavirus.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa recently instructed to take immediate action to resolve this issue.

Meanwhile, some have recently commented that there is a risk of the virus entering the groundwater if corona infected bodies are buried.

However, Professor Malik Peiris, a Sri Lankan scientist who played a key role in identifying and controlling the SARS outbreak in 2003, told the BBC that there was no evidence that the virus could enter the groundwater if people who died of the corona virus were buried. 

The Director General of Health Services confirmed two (02) deaths caused by Covid-19 virus infection yesterday.

A 15 year old boy who was receiving treatments at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama was diagnosed as infected with Covid 19 virus
and transferred to IDH Hospital where he died on 22.12.2020. The cause of death is Covid pneumonia, blood poisoning and acute leukemia.

A 72 year old female from Colombo 07 died at her residence on 20.12.2020. The cause of death was mentioned as Covid pneumonia.