(12 Jun 2020) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4273607
The new coronavirus has made honoring the dead in New Delhi a hurried affair, largely devoid of the meaningful rituals for the grieving families.
Cemeteries and crematoriums are overwhelmed, so there isn't much time for ceremony.
Attendance is also low as the government limits the number of people allowed at funerals.
When Manish Garg's 67-year-old mother died from suspected complication from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, he had no choice but to have a lonely funeral.
Instead of chanting sacred Vedic hymns and sprinkling holy water from India's Ganges River, all Garg could do was place his mother's wrapped corpse on a wooden pyre and watch it burn.
New Delhi has reported over 980 deaths, but cemeteries and crematoriums in the city say the actual number is higher.
The virus has upended Muslim burial rituals in the city as well.
Bodies arrive at Muslim cemeteries with crews in hazmat suits. Bodies aren't washed and mourners can't view them. There are no sermons.
The spike in deaths highlights a virus surge throughout India, where authorities are reporting nearly 10,000 new infections each day and some 275 deaths.
Nevertheless, India lifted most of the remaining restrictions from its 10-week lockdown on June 8, the same day it recorded its highest single-day death toll from the virus.
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