After a day’s delay overs protests by residents, Meghalaya’s first Covid-19 victim laid to rest

Sixty-nine-year-old John L Sailo Ryntathiang, the managing director of Shillong-based Bethany Hospital and the state’s first Covid-19 patient, died on Wednesday morning.

Meghalaya’s first Covid-19 victim was buried on Thursday afternoon after opposition by local residents over fears that the coronavirus disease will spread delayed the final rites by a day.

Medical staff with protective clothing seen inside a ward specialised in receiving any person who may have been infected with coronavirus, at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, in New Delhi (HT Photo)

Sixty-nine-year-old John L Sailo Ryntathiang, the managing director of Shillong-based Bethany Hospital and the state’s first Covid-19 patient, died on Wednesday morning.

“The burial took place at the graveyard of Riatsamthiah Presbyterian Church with adherence to all safety protocols. It went off smoothly,” Meghalaya health minister AL Hek said while speaking to HT over the phone from Shillong.

On Wednesday, authorities in Shillong had a tough time managing residents at several localities who refused to allow Ryntathiang’s last rites to take place citing safety concerns.

The first plan of the administration was to cremate the body at the electric crematorium at Jhalupara. But that couldn’t happen as hundreds of residents came out to the streets opposing the move and police personnel had to be deployed to manage the situation.

But that move also had to be shelved after the local Dorbar Shnong, a Khasi institution comprising local residents, decided in a meeting not to allow the burial to take place.

As news of the opposition by residents spread, some villages and churches came forward and agreed to allow the last rites of the doctor to take place.

Finally, the health authorities decided on the small church cemetery at Lawmali in Shillong.

Meghalaya has nine Covid-19 patients to date.