Managing director, John Glanville, has refuted claims that the Goroka Glenrowan Investments funeral home is full.
Glanville clarified that only the COVID-19 limit has been reached while there is still space for those who have died from other causes.
“Toksave em stap ya, em lo COVID tasol bikos em liklik speis na COVID bai kisim sikspla bodi tasol,” he stated. (The notice that was given was for COVID-19 only because we can only take six bodies.)
“Mipla no save miksim COVID bodies na nomol bodies. (We don’t mix COVID bodies with normal bodies.)
“We are professional people and we want to do it professionally. Mipla mas bildim kofin lo cater too because our hands are full so mipla shatim daun temporary tasol. (We needed to build more coffins to cater for the demand, hence we had to temporarily shut down.)
“And then mipla sa enkarijim femli, you do it hariap, you pay; K1,000 you pay, we embalm the body, you take it to your home and three or four days later bihain yu putim em go daun lo graun.” (We also encourage families to do it quickly; K1,000 you pay, we embalm the body, you take it to your home and three or four days later you can bury it.)
The Goroka funeral home has a ceiling of 36 while the one in Lae holds up to 40.
Glanville said there are plans in place to bring in another storage container to increase Lae’s capacity.
(The managing director of Glenrowan Investments funeral home, John Simon Glanville)