Burial of Covid-19 victims not likely to spread virus: State to HC

Burial of Covid-19 victims is not likely to spread the deadly virus in the vicinity of the cemetery, the Maharashtra government said in a statement submitted to the Bombay high court (HC) on May 17.

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“It is well established and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Covid-19 virus is not airborne and hence, transmission of the virus to people staying in the vicinity of the burial ground is highly impossible,” said the statement. The government’s submission was filed in response to a petition by four Bandra residents, challenging an April 9 order of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), identifying three inter-connected Muslim cemeteries in Bandra (West) as approved sites for burial of Covid-19 victims.

“The transmission cannot happen unless people in the locality come in direct contact with the dead body brought for burial or cremation,” said the statement, adding, “Direct contact of people staying in the locality with the dead body is impossible as it is wrapped in plastic by hospital staff before being handed over to the relatives.”

The statement goes on to explain that the burial is done in strict compliance with directives issued by the government and the health department of BMC.

BMC has also filed an affidavit supporting the stand taken by the government. Its affidavit stated that the WHO guidelines on bodies of Covid-19 patients stipulate that except in cases of haemorrhagic fevers (such as Ebola) and cholera, dead bodies are generally not infectious. “Only the lungs of patients with pandemic influenza, if handled improperly during an autopsy, can be infectious. Other than the above, cadavers do not transmit the disease,” reads the statement.

The four petitioners said that the three inter-connected Muslim cemeteries are at the heart of Bandra (West) and are surrounded by heavily populated residential areas.