US Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz today welcomed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement to end mandatory cremation of COVID victims. "Welcome media reporting on PM’s announcement to end mandatory cremation of COVID victims. Implementation of a revised practice that is in line with international public health norms and respects religious rites is a positive action," she said in a tweet. Speaking in Parliament earlier today, Prime Minister Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka will allow the burial of Covid victims’ bodies.