Ludhiana admn issues standard protocol to ferry bodies of Covid victims

Nodal officer assigned to allot ambulance within an hour; action comes in the wake of hospitals flouting safety guidelines while handling bodies

Springing into action after finding hospitals violating safety guidelines while handling bodies of Covid victims, the administration on Thursday constituted a Covid cremation management cell.

On April 26, two families were forced to take their deceased kin in a three-wheeler and on a cycle cart to the cremation ground in the absence of affordable ambulance service. (HT File Photo)

A standard operating procedure (SOP) has also been chalked out that mandates that all hospitals immediately intimate the cell’s nodal officer about a Covid patient’s death at 98154-77868.

The body must then be kept at the hospital’s mortuary until the medical officer allots a van to transport the body to the crematoriums/cemetery, which is expected to be done within an hour.

The health facilities have been warned against releasing any Covid victim’s body in the absence of adequate arrangements to move it.

Another medical officer from the cell will make sure that teams handling the bodies follow all safety protocols, while cops will ensure social distancing and masking at the crematoriums.

On Wednesday, deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma had marked an inquiry against Aastha Hospital for sending a female deceased’s body to the cremation ground without a PPE kit or a sheet.

The action came after photographs emerged on social media, showing the elderly woman’s body lying abandoned on a cart at the ground.

Before this, two families were forced to take bodies of their family members in an auto-rickshaw and a cycle cart in the absence of an affordable ambulance service. Even here, the bodies were transported in the absence of due protocols.

“An SOP has now been issued so that the Covid victims are cremated with dignity and as per safety guidelines to limit the risk of infection,” said an MC official.

10 vans arranged, more on the way

MC joint commissioner Swati Tiwana, who will supervise the cremation management cell, said the district administration had 10 mortuary vans, including five dedicated by NGO Samvedna.

Stating that more vans and ambulances will soon be roped in with the help of the RTA secretary, Tiwana urged NGOs to assist the administration in this hour of need.

Meanwhile, MC commissioner Pradeep Sabharwal held a meeting with all private hospitals with facilities for L2 (mild to moderate symptoms) and L3 (critical) patients to reiterate the safety protocols for bodies of Covid victims.

Cremation helplines for families

The administration has released three helpline numbers for the deceased’s families – 9501-500-101, 7719-712-797 and 9501-500-102.