No Policy Against The Release of COVID-19 Corpses to Their Families For Burial- Health Commissioner, Akin Abayomi

Lagos state Commissioner for Health, Akin Abayomi, has said the state has no policy against the release of COVID-19 corpses to family members for burial.

Abayomi stated this during a press briefing this afternoon. He made the clarification after a journalist at the press briefing asked why the body of former Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Abba Kyari, was released for burial when the Minister of Infiormation and Culture, Lai Mohammed, initially stated that corpses of persons who tested positive for COVID-19, will not be released to families for burial because they are contagious and could increase the spread of the virus.

The Commissioner said Lagos state holds no policy of withholding bodies of deceased Coronavirus patients.

According to the Commissioner, the bodies of patients with the infectious disease can be released after certain procedures have been followed.

“There is no policy against the release of the deceased with COVID-19 in terms of release for burial. If you demise from any condition, there’s protocol to manage every scenario. The protocol for managing death from COVID-19 is that the body is decontaminated. The body is then placed in a special body bag. We put them in two body bags and then place within a coffin and the coffin is sealed.

The family is then given the opportunity to come and collect the body and take for burial. The only restriction around burial is that you follow the current state law on congregations and that no more than 25 people in total, including the religious members of the ceremony and the grave diggers, do not exceed 25[attend the burial].” he said

Abba Kyari died at the First Cardiology Consultants in Lagos on Friday April 17