Over the past several days Goa has witnessed a spike in the number of Covid-19 positive cases. The number of deaths due to the novel coronavirus per million population is the highest in the country. While most of the deaths have been reported in the designated Covid hospitals and care centres, what is disturbing is that many have been brought dead to the hospitals and tested positive post mortem. This can lead to a dangerous situation. It is a well-known fact that the body of a Covid-positive person is cremated by following strict norms and standard operating procedure (SOP). Those who are handling the dead body are required to wear PPE, masks, face shields and undergo proper sanitization. This protocol may not be followed by the people handling the dead body of a person who is tested positive post-mortem. Hence there is every possibility of the people who have handled the dead body, while shifting it to the hospital, contracting the infection who can in turn become super-spreaders. There is also every possibility that the ambulance that has carried the dead body of the Covid-positive person not being sanitized properly as the positive status of the dead body was not known in advance. Hence all those who have handled a dead body that tested positive post mortem need to undergo mandatory testing and the ambulance properly sanitized.
