By Our Reporter
The government of Uganda has through the Ministry of Health relaxed directives that were issued in March this year regarding the burial of COVID-19 victims.
It should be noted that the government had tasked the Ministry of Health and the COVID-19 National Taskforce to handle the burial of all people that die of Coronavirus.
However, according to the new directives, relatives of COVID-19 victims have been allowed to bury their deceased, provided they follow the Standard Operation Procedures.
The revelation was made by Iren Nakasiita, the spokesperson Red Cross Uganda, who revealed that the government had reached the resolution to allow relatives bury their loved ones who die of COVID-19 in a bid to reduce costs involved in the process.
“This is aimed at reducing the costs involved in handling the body, disinfecting and transporting it to the point of burial. Under this arrangement, government has directed us to stop at disinfecting and packaging the body, after which we should handle it to the relatives for burial,” Nakasiita said.
She added that “However, all relatives of COVID-19 victims should desist from unwrapping the body for whatever reasons, not to even perform any cultural rites, because they risk getting infected with the virus.”
Nakasiita also noted that burial of COVID-19 victims will be undertaken amidst strict observance of the Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) from the Ministry of Health, in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus among mourners.