Punjab admin asked to implement guidelines for corona victims burial

LAHORE: The majority of the families of Covid-19 victims are not following the SOPs issued by Primary and Secondary Health Department during their burial.

Commissioner Lahore Division took notice of this issue and directed the district administration to ensure implementation of the burial guidelines of Primary and Secondary Health Department.

Following the direction of the commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Lahore Mudassar Riaz wrote a letter to 18 public and private hospitals and directed them to implement SOPs for burial of patients who died due to Corona.

Sources in the district administration revealed that the commissioner got many reports that regular funerals of patients died due to Covid-19 had been carried out in the city.

Sources said this was alarming because regular funerals may increase the spread of the disease.

A senior official of the district administration said the guidelines issued by Primary and Secondary Health Department, Punjab ensured all the last rites of a deceased person, including transportation of the body.

He said these guidelines were dispatched to all Divisional Commissioners, Chief Executive Officers and Heads of the public hospitals for implementation in March 2020.

Under these guidelines, no one would be allowed to touch an infected person’s body and distance would be maintained to minimise exposure.

For burial, the authorities would form a gender-sensitive team and engage the relevant family for counselling to comply with the standard operating procedures to avoid the risk of spread of the virus. The senior officer said that the team including family members of the deceased preparing the body for burial must use PPE, including full gowns, gloves, N-95 masks, goggles, long boots and shoe covers.

The guidelines bound the authorities concerned to must ensure that all the clothing of the deceased has been disposed of properly and the body is wrapped and packed properly inside a coffin with five per cent chlorine. The place where the body was prepared for burial must be disinfected later. The guidelines bound the authorities to transport the body of a deceased died of Coronavirus in a dedicated vehicle.

He said the guidelines further directed that while offering funeral prayers of the deceased patients, large gatherings must be avoided, social distancing should be ensured and all participants must be using masks and hand sanitizers. The senior officer maintained that the notification of Primary and Secondary Health Department further said the body would be laid down in the grave by a special team while the family could participate in covering the grave.

He said that several clerics affiliated with Tanzeem Ittehad-i-Ummat Pakistan’s Shariah Board have also issued a religious decree stating that the bathing of bodies (ghusl) of coronavirus patients was not necessary and they may be buried after tayammum (dry ablution).

He said the decree issued by Pir Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi said it was necessary to take precaution while performing the last rites of a Muslim who died of a contagious disease so that it did not affect others.

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner Lahore Mudassar Riaz in his Saturday’s letter written to the MSs of 18 public and private hospitals in the city directed them to strictly follow the SOPs.

The hospitals included Jinnah Hospital, Lahore General Hospital, Children’s Hospital, Mayo Hospital, Services Hospital, Expo Center, Ganga Ram Hospital, Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Ittefaq Hospital, Adil Hospital, Bahria International Hospital, Doctors Hospital, National Hospital, Hameed Latif Hospital, Fatima Memorial Hospital, Farooq Hospital, Thokar Niaz Baig, Farooq Hospital, Allama Iqbal Road, PKLI Hospital and University of Lahore Hospital.

In his letter, the DC instructed the administrations of these hospitals to strictly implement the SOPs set up for the burial of patients who died due to corona. He, in his letter, expressed concern that those who died with Corona were not buried as per the SOPs.

“The burial of the deceased is not being done as per the SOPs issued by the Primary and Secondary Health,” the letter said and directed the hospitals to implement the already circulated SOPs. The letter also bound the hospitals to immediately inform the district administration about the Corona related deaths and in this regard a control room was established at the DC Office Lahore.

DC Lahore Mudassar Riaz has said that Rescue 1122 will provide transport facility to the patient who died due to corona and will also ensure implementation of SOPs.