PESHAWAR: The government of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has bowed to the pressure of relatives of coronavirus victims to perform their last rites at home, health officials confirmed on Thursday.
Provincial Health Secretary Imtiaz Hussain Shah said the permission had been granted only to close family members and on condition of their adhering to medical protocols and safety measures.
"As per established guidelines, relatives are not allowed to touch the dead body without wearing masks and gloves. The body will be covered to protect others from contracting the virus. The final look at the dead is also allowed but from a safe distance. Government staff will be present to ensure that the precautionary measures are enforced," he said.
While COVID-19 burial protocols in KP were officially eased on Wednesday, infection figures in Pakistan continue to soar, crossing 25,800 as of Friday. With nearly 600 deaths from COVID-19, the country's death count has doubled in 10 days.
Dr. Muhammad Sheryar, assistant professor at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar — the largest health facility in the province — told Arab News that no medical practitioner would be able to tell whether the virus could be contracted from the body of a person who died from it.
"But the latest World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines have changed, advising chlorination of the dead body and burial with protective measures. On one hand this virus is something unprecedented, but on the other hand have to keep the local context in mind to allow close family members a last look at their loved ones," he said.
LRH spokesman Muhammad Asim said that all the hospitals in the province received directives from the provincial health directorate to grant the permission to the families of victims with all safety measures in place.
"We give personal protective equipment to victims' families and supervise the entire process from bathing to burial. Our teams help them," he added.
Earlier, he said, that the government did not allow relatives of COVID-19 victims to take the bodies home and funerals had to be carried in isolation by designated staff.
