Cemetery vendor laments burial ban

Ruby Hayden has been selling naseberries and snacks to visitors to the Meadowrest Memorial Gardens in St Catherine for years, but she now fears the worst due to the Government's two-week ban on burials, a measure to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

"This (the restrictions) is a great concern to me, as the persons who come to the cemetery are the customers that support me. So the two weeks will affect me very badly," Hayden said of the ban which starts today.

The Frazer's Content resident sells her goodies from a stall that is perched under a cluster of trees close to the cemetery's entrance. She noted that pall bearers, mourners, hearse drivers and others paying their last respects are her main supporters.

"It means much to me as I push the wheelbarrow here daily to sell, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, we would make a money to pay my bills. But it slowed down lately. So mi know that it going to get worst now that no funerals to come," she said.

Hayden, who also works at the cemetery as a sweeper, said that COVID-19 has already affected her financially, as her fortnightly pay has been cut.

"I am still thankful to Meadowrest to still have me working part-time. I used to work straight, but now it is week on, week off. So you can't earn as much. So the selling is what help out, but COVID-19 lick it badly," Hayden said.

Her views were echoed by others who said that the burial lockdown will have adverse effects on the business of death.

One mourner, Michael Darby, said "the lockdown can only work if people comply with the protocols. We come from town to bury a friend, but a only 10 people the police let in. The other seven out here".

THE STAR observed that security personnel who were posted at the gates of Meadowrest were very strict with the number of people allowed to enter facility.

"There can only be 10 as the law said, so how come you have four persons saying that they are pastors? The police will not allow more that 10, so get those most important and they will be allowed inside," a policeman told one group.