SHAH ALAM (Bernama): The Selangor government announced the Covid-19 Centralised Funeral Arrangement initiative which aims to reduce the time taken to manage the remains of patients and ease congestion at several hospitals in the state on Saturday (July 17).

       Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the initiative would involve the funeral arrangements of Muslim and non-Muslim Covid-19 patients at the Shah Alam Hospital, Sungai Buloh Hospital and Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Klang.

       He said the Section 21 Muslim Cemetery in Shah Alam and Selat Klang Muslim Cemetery in Port Klang had been selected for the burial of Muslim Covid-19 patients.

       "For non-Muslim patients, the remains will be referred to the local authorities for burial purposes and appropriate crematorium arrangement. I am also in touch with the Foreign Ministry to coordinate funeral arrangements for Covid-19 patients who are non-citizens,” he said in a statement today.

       He added that the initiative was implemented following discussions with the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on Wednesday (July 14), as well as other agencies and local authorities regarding the issue.

       In another development, Amirudin said the state government would provide food baskets within 48 hours to residents involved in the implementation of the enhanced movement control order in four localities in the state, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Friday (July 16).

       The Menteri Besar said all residents would undergo Covid-19 screening and those who tested positive would be isolated for monitoring and treatment purposes, while the rest would be inoculated by the District Health Office.

       Four localities in Selangor to be placed under the EMCO from tomorrow until July 31 are the Damai Apartment, PJS 8 Damansara in Petaling; Jalan Pandan Indah, Ampang (Hulu Langat); Jalan Batu Nilam, Bandar Bukit Tinggi (Klang) and Taman Samudera in Batu (Gombak). - Bernama