Funerals and last rites in the time of coronavirus: COVID-19 steals even the final goodbyes

Death rites, considered sacrosanct for any religion, are in serious threat of being eroded. The country’s overworked and disempowered municipal authorities are grappling with a new problem -- of performing last rites of coronavirus bodies.

There are increasing cases of families not willing to accept bodies of coronavirus patients as the contamination levels are too high and the chances of a fatal infection nearly certain, if not handled with care. Face to face with death, religious rituals have taken a backseat. According to the latest count, more than 300 people have died due to the virus sweeping the country.

Last week in Punjab’s Kapurthala, a son refused to accept his mother’s body for the fear of contracting the virus. Repeated requests by the tehsildar and local authorities to do the final rites fell on deaf ears and it was left to the administration to do the needful, at their expense.

In Maharashtra, a Muslim man who died last Tuesday of COVID-19 infection did not get a place for burial in the city. He was a resident of Malad. The body was taken to a Muslim cemetery in Malvani area of Malad. The local administration allotted a time to bury the body of the deceased, but when the ambulance reached the spot, graveyard authorities backed out, denying permission for final rites. The cemetery officials went as far as protesting against the entry of the ambulance carrying the body. As the graveyard authorities were less-than-keen on burying the body of a coronavirus patient fearing infection, the administration fruitlessly tried to convince them. After several hours of argument and denial from graveyard authorities, the local administration took the body to the nearest Hindu cemetery ground and cremated it with full honours.

Stringent guidelines

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had earlier released a circular stating that all COVID-19 casualties in Mumbai will have to be cremated, irrespective of their religion. The order was later withdrawn after a public outcry.

On March 17, 2020, the central government had released an advisory for the management of dead bodies of COVID-19 patients. The guidelines said that friends and family of the deceased can see the body, but must avoid touching. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is mandatory to avoid contact with the body. Religious rituals such as reading from holy books or scriptures, sprinkling holy water and other last rites that do not require touching of the body, can be undertaken. However, bathing, kissing and hugging the body is prohibited. The family of the deceased will have to be on guard during the cremation.

The order further stated that all medical waste must be handled and disposed of in accordance with biomedical waste management rules. If the family of the patient wishes to view the body at the time of removal from the isolation room or area, they may be allowed to do so with the application of standard precautions.

The order advised mortuary staff to observe standard precautions like storing them in cold chambers maintained at approximately 4 degrees Celsius, disinfecting environmental surfaces, instruments and transport trolleys with one percent hypochlorite solution and cleaning the chamber door, handles and floor with sodium hypochlorite after the body had been removed.

These guidelines came into force after a delay in the cremation of a 68-year-old woman in Delhi, who died after testing positive for coronavirus. The well-known Nigambodh Ghat crematorium reached out to authorities seeking clarity on the handling of the body. Family members of the woman alleged that Nigambodh officials refused to allow final rites, alleging they were turned away after they had reached the cremation ground.

The problem may be bigger for Muslims, where cremation is strictly forbidden. Space for burial in Muslim graveyards in the national capital is, in any case, desperately short. According to the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC)’s Annual Report, 2018, on an average 13,000 Muslim funerals were held in a year and as of 2017, there were only 29,370 burial spaces left.

Designated graveyards

In light of the COVID-19 onslaught, the Delhi Waqf Board has designated one of its graveyards specifically for burial.

With the daily toll mounting, state governments are finding ways and means to get around the crisis, which shows every sign of ballooning. The Telangana municipal administration and urban development department has issued additional guidelines on safe management of bodies of suspected and confirmed coronavirus cases. Bathing the body, a tradition in many religions, has been prohibited. Family members - not more than three - are permitted to see the body at the hospital through a protected glass window. However, they are not allowed to enter the mortuary or come in contact with the deceased.

The Telangana government along with some other state governments has expressed the need for putting in place a designated burial ground for coronavirus victims. The body of the victim will be transported in a special ambulance to the graveyard by a group of four body handlers. In case of non-availability of a site at their regular burial site, the municipal authorities shall dispose of the body as per the availability of sites.