KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Sin Chew Daily) –The rapidly increasing COVID-19 mortality rate has further strained the country's funeral service providers.

Malaysia Funeral Public Association (PIPM) president Kong Thian Hau told Sin Chew Daily the association's members have been handling between 200 and 300 COVID-related deaths since March last year, adding that they now have to handle an average of one to three cases a day, up from one case in a week or two last time.

"The additional workload has excessively exhausted the undertakers."

He said about six to seven Chinese Malaysians die of COVID-19 each day at this moment, according to the official figures published by the health ministry.

"In the past, before a patient died, the hospital would inform the family to rush to the hospital to see the patient one last time. But now, they don't even get to see the patient if he or she is infected with COVID-19!"

Kong said on average it takes about three hours for the whole procedure from transporting the body of a COVID-19 patient from hospital to a crematorium or burial ground to completing the funeral service.

"We will be completely drained of energy after three hours of work. Imagine the medical frontliners have to work the whole day clad in PPEs.

"We really must salute these people."

Meanwhile, Muhammad Rafieudin Zainal Rasid, head of the Malaysian Funeral Management Squad, a voluntary team to help handle the burial of Muslim COVID-19 deaths, said the number of bodies they have to handle now is nearly 30 times more than last year.