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RFE / RL Kazakhstan Branch on May 25. Captured workers in protective clothing burying two people in a cemetery with 32 new graves.
On that day, the Almaty authorities only reported a total of 10 deaths from COVID-19, and there were no deaths in the surrounding Almaty region. Located in a remote area near the town of Karaoi, about 50 km from Alamata, the cemetery is divided by a muddy road: 13 Muslim graves on one side and 17 places of eternal Catholic rest on the other.
The graves are marked with simple wooden crosses or columns with an Islamic crescent. They bear the names of the deceased and the dates of birth and death, which shows that they all died in April or May. Most of those buried here died when they were over 60 years old.
RFE / RL confirmed, after an interview with relatives at one of the funerals, that one of those buried was a 73-year-old woman who had recently been diagnosed with coronavirus. However, she was not officially classified as a COVID-19 victim.
Nadezhda, an Almaty resident who did not give her last name, said her mother became ill in mid-May. The coronavirus test was negative and she was initially diagnosed with pneumonia. However, the old woman’s condition continued to deteriorate. May 23 relatives called an ambulance.
Family members of the woman who arrived at the hospital were told that the woman had high blood pressure. It was not until May 25, the day of the funeral, that the relatives received a document confirming that the patient was infected with the coronavirus.
Coronavirus in Kazakhstan
Nadezhda’s brother Nikolai, also without giving his name, presented this document to RFE / RL.
Recently, the state authority responsible for the epidemiological situation in Almaty reported that these cemeteries were specifically designated for victims of coronavirus.
Asel Kalykova, head of the city department responsible for the quality and control of products and services, spoke about the establishment of the cemetery on May 21. in a report shown on a local television channel.
This report shows the drone images: it shows a dirt road that divides the cemetery, with Muslim graves on one side and Christian graves on the other.
When asked by RFE / RL why 22 people are buried in the cemetery, the names of which are not included in the official statistics on coronavirus deaths, Kazakhstan’s Health Ministry official Timur Sultangazijev only partially answered the question during a meeting. broadcast on the ministry’s Facebook account.
Sultangaziev said the ministry “did not issue an order to establish special cemeteries for those who died of coronavirus.” According to him, the regional authorities “can decide for themselves.”
Questions sent to Alandama’s chief sanitation doctor, Gandarbek Bekshin, on May 25. There was no response at his press conference.
According to official data from the Ministry of Health, in Kazakhstan until May 27. 9,304 coronavirus cases were reported and 37 people died from COVID-19.
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