Covid-19: Dealing with the Dead in Tertiary Care Centre in Punjab, India

Abstract

Covid-19 outbreak on 30th January 2020 declared as international public health emergency by WHO posed a big challenge to the medical professionals dealing with the Covid-19 dead bodies in the mortuaries. The biggest challenge for the mortuary staff including the doctors and the marshals for dead body shifting was to face and satisfy the aggrieved relatives, selfprevention from infection by potential suspects accompanying the dead bodies, addressing multiple type of grievances of the relatives of the dead, quick and timely disposal of the dead, ensuring proper identity of the bodies before shifting and clearing the doubts of the persons accompanying the deceased hyped by social media which included stealing of the organs of the dead and valuables on the dead body, explaining the abnormal findings on the dead body as a consequence of Covid death, arrangement of transport in Covid positive cases as per the protocol, guiding the relatives for procuring death certificate subsequently, guidance in advance for cremation by relatives and clearing doubts on multiple myths directly or indirectly relating to Covid deaths and above all maintaining dignity of the dead at all levels. Such challenges faced during the pandemic by the medical staff in the mortuary of Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, a premier tertiary care centre of North India, are being discussed under the title.