Relatives will be allowed to see bodies of suspected COVID patients: Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee

Banerjee said that as per the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, there is no difference between protocols to be followed for the disposal of bodies o confirmed COVID-19 patients and those of suspected ones.

The West Bengal government had decided to allow family members to see the body of a suspected COVID-19 patient before it was disposed of without waiting for the test results to come, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

The decision was taken from a humane point of view she said. Banerjee said that as per the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, there is no difference between protocols to be followed for the disposal of bodies o confirmed COVID-19 patients and those of suspected ones.

“But the problem is, if the deceased is a suspected COVID case, it takes around 10-12 hours for the test report to arrive. The family members need to wait till that. Now there is no need to wait. We will allow them to see the bod for half-an-hour, but it will be inside a cover. The diaspora will be done as per the ICMR guidelines,” she said.

The West Bengal government has been allowing relative of persons who died due to the contagion to see the body for 30 minutes to pay their last respects but they need t maintain certain norms.

Banerjee asked people to take precautionary measure and follow sanitisation practices to fight the pandemic. She also warned the people of dengue which affect people during the monsoon.