The Department of Local Self Government has published the standard operating procedure for proper management of the bodies of COVID-19 victims.
The guidelines were issued following the confusion among the local bodies concerned and the relatives of the dead over the performance of the last rites. The standard operating procedure has been formulated based on the guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on the management of the bodies of the victims and the precautions to be followed by the relatives and the municipal workers handling the bodies.
The local bodies will have to ensure safe handling, transportation and cremation of the body, if the relatives are not willing to receive the body. The ambulance used for shifting the body should be cleaned with one per cent sodium hypochlorite under the supervision of the health staff.
The family members can view the body after it has been prepared for burial in accordance with their customs and traditions. The body should not be taken out for bathing/viewing or placing in a mobile freezer. Those involved in placing the body in the grave or on the funeral pyre should wear PPE kits as per the health protocol.
The post-funeral ceremonies should be postponed as much as possible until the end of the pandemic. It is not compulsory that the belongings of the dead must be burnt or disposed of. However, it should be handled with gloves and cleaned with a detergent followed by disinfection with a solution of at least 70% ethanol or 0.1% (1000 ppm) bleach. The clothing and other fabric belonging to the victims should be machine washed with warm water at 60-90 degree Celsius and laundry detergent.
The hospital authorities should intimate the municipal authorities through the station house officer concerned on the last rites of the dead, if family members or relatives fail to get in touch with them or remain reluctant to receive the body within 12 hours after the death of the patient. The local bodies have to make all arrangements to cremate/bury the bodies as per the protocols in such cases, the guidelines said.
