ISNA – The CEO of Qom Cemeteries Organization denied Washington Post’s accusation, stressing that there is no special section for coronavirus victims in Behesht-e Masoumeh Cemetery in Qom.

In an interview with ISNA, the CEO of Qom Cemeteries Organization Seyyed Seyfeddin Mousavi Niaraki reacted to the recent accusation made by the Washington Post about the excavation of a large trench for accommodating coronavirus victims in Behesht-e Masoumeh Cemetery in Qom and said, “Contrary to what has been circulated in the media space about a special section for coronavirus victims, there is no special section for coronavirus victims in Behesht-e Masoumeh Cemetery in Qom”.

“It is important to say that the coronavirus victims are buried based on specific rules of the health protocol, with observing the specifications of graves’ height, lime spraying and concrete,” he added.

“People shouldn’t allow that such news mislead them because before the spread of coronavirus, 25 people are buried in Qom on average every day so all the people who are buried in Qom now shouldn’t considered as coronavirus victims,” the official went on to say.

“Before the spread of coronavirus, we have been usually preparing graves more than one week before to meet the terms of burying,” Mousavi Niaraki noted.

Mentioning the crisis sections in cemeteries, he stated, “These sections are predicted for state of emergency which is a normal and reasonable act; it means that the Qom province should be ready for burying dead people in the event of an earthquake or natural disaster”.