Embalming now an option for Covid-19 deceased persons in Singapore

In other words, families, whose loved ones had carried the Covid-19 coronavirus prior to their deaths, can now opt for the viewing of their deceased loved ones in an open casket arrangement (after being embalmed), in accordance with NEA’s regulations.

As of December 2022, there are twenty-five licensed funeral parlours with embalming facilities, according to NEA, and out of these, fifteen have been given the green-light to provide embalming services for deceased persons with severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

The fifteen licensees are (in alphabetical order):

• Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors Pte Ltd
• Ang Yew Seng Funeral Parlour
• Casket Fairprice Pte Ltd
• Chng Hoon Casket
• Chye Seng Undertaker
• Direct Funeral Services Pte Ltd
• Flying Home Pte Ltd
• Goh Soon Moh Undertaker
• Hosanna Bereavement Services Pte Ltd
• Simplicity Casket Pte Ltd
• Singapore Casket Co. Pte Ltd
• Singapore Funeral Services (SFS Care Pte Ltd)
• Saint Joseph Dying Aid Association
• Trinity Casket Pte Ltd
• Union Casket Pte Ltd

For a full list of licensed funeral parlours with embalming facilities

(last updated December 2022)

No reasons were provided by NEA as to why these 15 licensees were selected for the trial run, but Death Kopitiam Singapore notes that 13 of the 15 licensees are presently members of the Association of Funeral Directors, Singapore (AFD).

There are also no comments on whether the lifting of the prohibitions will be extended to other funeral/funeral parlour operators, presumably after March 5, 2023.

Regarding the lifting of restriction, a spokesperson for MOH/NEA said, “Singapore enjoys a high Covid-19 vaccination coverage, and the public has accumulated immunity over several waves of the pandemic. Singapore is now better positioned to mitigate the infections arising from the Covid-19 virus and the serious diseases it causes.”

“Medical personnel and funeral services professionals will continue to take the necessary precautions, including the donning of personal protection equipment (PPEs), the spokesperson added.

Mr Ang Ziqian, a managing director of Ang Chin Moh Funeral Directors said that such a move is “timely”, and it is in line with the broader direction, as laid down by the government, of treating the Covid-19 virus as an endemic disease in our society.”

“The move to further lift restrictions can thus be viewed as part of the broader efforts in learning to live with the virus”, added Mr Ang.

Deputy General Manager of Singapore Funeral Parlour, Terence Chan, said that this move will allow bereaved families to choose the [best possible] manner to say farewell to their loved ones.

Representatives of three licensees, who spoke to Death Kopitiam Singapore on the condition of anonymity, said that, as far as they are aware, they have till date, not embalmed cases where the deceased is known to or suspected to be infected with the Covid-19 virus.

NEA on its website had stated, in an undated pdf file, "embalming is allowed for all COVID-19 deceased regardless of time from infection, i.e. no stipulation on number of days from first positive test; If embalmed, open casket wakes are allowed."

We have reached out to NEA/AFD and the respective licensees with further questions. We sought clarification regarding:

• the consultation process with the funeral industry;
• the reasons/basis by which these 15 funeral parlour operators were chosen to helm this trial exercise;
• the measures that each licensee has to compile with to safeguard the employment and health of embalmers and funeral personnel.
• whether the lifting of restrictions will be extended to the other ten funeral parlour operators, after the trial-run ends, presumably in March 2023;
• the number of embalmers in each firm/amongst members of the AFD that are trained to perform/handle embalming and washing services for deceased known to or suspected to be infected with the Covid-19 virus.

This is a developing story.