Coffin-makers have been working double shifts to make up for the shortfall

Coffin makers are urging Ghanaians to take advantage of private burials which are faster than keeping their dead relatives in mortuaries that would further bring them huge cost.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, during his 23rd address to the nation on measures taken to curtail the spread of coronavirus, imposed a ban on funeral celebration following high recorded cases of COVID-19.

He, however, maintained that private burials not exceeding 25 persons are allowed in the country until otherwise directed in subsequent updates.

Kwame Marfo, one of the leaders of Kumasi Asafo Coffin Sellers and Makers in the Ashanti Region, on Kumasi-based Angel Fm, said the ban on funerals will have a negative impact on coffin business.

According to him “though the ban on funerals will affect our coffin business we believe it cannot collapse the business. Since private burials with at most 25 attendants are allowed, we believe some families will choose to buy a coffin than send their dead relatives to the mortuary.”

He added that “there are some people who have warned their families not to send their bodies to mortuaries when dead, so those people will surely choose to buy a coffin than a mortuary.”

When he was asked if they are happy when people die, he said: “We don’t feel happy when people die but we always pray to God to help us get business.

“Praying to God to help us get money doesn’t mean we want people to die or we are happy when people die but death is part of the human journey and no one can escape it.”

Mynewsgh