On top of the sombre task, they have to witness heartbreaking scenes of family members weeping over the departure of their loved ones.

Most times, the next of kin of the deceased are not even allowed to be present at the burial ground.

The volunteers also face the wrath of residents staying near graveyards who refuse to allow the remains to be buried so close to where they live, out of fear of contracting the virus.

Despite all these challenges and the increasing rate of daily deaths from Covid-19, the NGO continues to offer its services for free.

The cost of managing the burial for each body can go up to RM3,000, depending on the logistics and location of the burial ground.

AVO president Dr Azfar Hussin told FMT that some family members would offer payment, but based on what they could afford.

Azfar, who owns the As-Salam chain of clinics in Selangor, said they started the initiative over a year ago, managing the burial for around four to eight Covid-19 deaths a day.

The number has since increased tremendously.

“Now, it’s an average of 20 a day. The highest we’ve had was 57 in one day. At that time, we had to work from 8am to midnight.

“Imagine how exhausted we were, especially since we had to don the protective gear for our safety at all times.

“But our tiredness was worth it as we managed to fulfil the ‘fardu kifayah’ as well as the trust of our donors. What’s most important is that the grief of the family was also alleviated,” Azfar said.

Focused on the Klang Valley, most of AVO’s work involves handling dead patients from Hospital Ampang, one of the designated Covid-19 hospitals in the country.

The NGO has 11 full-time volunteers, whose work is divided into managing the remains at the mortuary and the burial grounds, as well as taking care of the logistics of the burial.

“All have been trained for at least six hours before they are allowed to manage any burial. If we don’t have enough members, we request help from other NGOs.

“Right now, we use six vehicles, four of which are our own. The other two were lent to us by the Selangor Islamic department and a surau.

“However, the number of vehicles is insufficient now due to the increase in deaths,” he said.

Azfar is thankful that none of his volunteers have contracted Covid-19 so far while in the field, attributing this to their strict compliance with the set SOPs.

Azfar, who was a volunteer doctor at a vaccination centre in Bukit Jalil, also said his wife understood why he was doing this, and he is thankful that he is still able to carry out his tasks despite the fatigue associated with his role.

Members of the public who are interested in contributing to AVO may drop a message at FMT’s Helpline at 019 3899839.

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