Scared of catching coronavirus, relatives refuse patient's body; administration cremates body

After assumptions and concerns over people not accepting bodies of COVID-19 patients an actual case came to fore after the family of a 69-year-old woman, Surinder Kaur from Shimlapuri area in Punjab, refused to claim the body.

The cremation was arranged and conducted by the district administration. The woman died on Sunday after testing positive for COVID-19.

The family of the deceased sat in a car 100 metres away from the cremation site.

Other similar incidents

In a similar incident, residents of Verka village refused to allow cremation of Padma Shri awardee Hazoori Nirmal Singh, who too had died of COVID-19, last week.

This is happening despite health administration stating that there are zero chances of people contracting the virus while cremating the body of a COVID-19 patient or collecting ash.

The incident was narrated by Ludhiana additional deputy commissioner (general) Iqbal Singh Sandhu. Sandhu was quoted as saying that Surinder Kaur had gone to Mohali and chances are that she contracted the virus and died at Fortis Hospital.

Sandhu informed some correspondents that the woman's family was contacted several times to come forward and perform her last rites with full protective gear. They refused to come out of their car, which was standing at about 100 meters from the cremation ground.

Sub Registrar Jasbir Singh had collected the body and cremated it. As the administrative staff was present at the site, an employee of the cremation ground was requested to cremate the body with protective gear.

The administration further added that it will also perform the bhog ceremony of the woman at a Gurdwara for which money is being collected.

A similar incident had come to light in Bengal when the body of a COVID-19 patient had to be cremated at an electric crematorium as the body was denied entry by locals at a cremation ground.

It should be noted that when India had issued guidelines on how to deal with the pandemic; there were very specific guidelines on how to collect and cremate bodies of people who die of COVID-19.

The scare of coronavirus is such that people do not want to take any chances it seems.