Funerals and cremations often cannot take place within the legal six-day period during corona. Funeral directors write so they spend a lot of time arranging adjournments ad. Della, the largest funeral director, says about a quarter of funerals were postponed in December. This is a third of cases in some areas.

A postponement may be necessary because crematoriums are fully planned or relatives have coronavirus or are stuck abroad. However, the postponement is now a “bureaucratic procedure,” says spokesperson Martin van de Kolwijk of Della. “We must consult a doctor who must assess whether the body is able to get past that period. With this statement we have to go to the mayor who must give permission,” Van de Kollwijk told the newspaper. Radio NOS 1 News. Close relatives are also involved in the procedure.

The funeral director is requesting a temporary exemption from the obligation during the pandemic. He states that the burden of care, mayors and relatives “should be removed from that bureaucracy”.

The rule that a doctor should perform an evaluation of the body was introduced in the early 1990s. According to Van de Koolwijk, cooling techniques have now been greatly improved. “The danger that existed more than twenty years ago is now as if it were.” The spokesperson also says he has never been tested by a doctor nor given permission. “So it’s a standard procedure, which is why it can go on as far as we’re concerned.”