"Shortage of Crematoriums Amid Surge in COVID-19 Deaths" ... Government Expands Operation of Cremation Facilities

Unable to Book Cremation, 4-5 Day Funerals Replace 3-Day Ones
Average Daily Use per Cremator Rises from 3.3 to 4.3 Times... Up to 1,300 People

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] As COVID-19 deaths surge and cremation facilities nationwide become insufficient, the government is pushing to extend crematorium operating hours and increase the number of cremations per furnace.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 11th that it discussed the need to expand cremation facility operations due to the increase in deaths. Seasonal factors during winter and transitional periods have led to more deaths from old age or underlying conditions, and with the spread of the Omicron variant causing a sharp rise in COVID-19 deaths, demand for cremation facilities is surging.

Cases where cremation cannot be performed on the third day after death due to difficulty in booking cremations have already increased since December last year. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the cremation rate on the third day after death dropped sharply from 82.6% in December last year to 85.3% in January this year, 77.9% in February, and 47.4% as of March 9. Many families, unable to book crematoriums, have had no choice but to hold 4-day or 5-day funerals instead of cremating on the third day after death. The cremation rate on the third day among bereaved families who chose cremation last year was 86.4%.

In particular, the average daily number of cremations from the 1st to the 9th was 1,027, which is 308 more than the average daily cremations of 719 during March over the past three years (2018?2020). During this period, the daily average number of COVID-19 deaths in Korea was 153.6, with daily counts of 112, 96, 128, 186, 216, 161, 139, 186, and 158 respectively. The number of deaths announced on the 10th was 206, and on the 11th it was 229, marking the highest daily death toll since the spread of COVID-19 in Korea.

To increase the capacity of crematoriums nationwide, the Ministry of Health and Welfare requested on the 4th that 60 public cremation facilities across the country extend operating hours, increase the number of cremations per day, and operate additional backup cremation furnaces. Previously, each cremation furnace was operated an average of 3.3 times per day, allowing for the cremation of 1,000 deceased persons, but going forward, the operation frequency will be increased to an average of 4.3 times per day to enable cremation of up to 1,300 people.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, "In the mid to long term, we plan to additionally expand the insufficient cremation facilities nationwide and improve operations to respond to the increasing number of deaths each year and the rise in demand due to seasonal factors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.